The Newsboy Cap Project -- Getting Started

Shall we start the new year by making newsboy caps?

First, let's define terms.  There are many different kinds of men's caps out there, but for me, a classic newsboy has eight panels, a center covered button, and a brim approximately as wide as the wearer's face.  (You can read the wikipedia definition here.)

My preference is for a newsboy with some drape (i.e., a large squat pancake).





The herringbone tweed cap I found at the Salvation Army last week is an eight-panel newsboy, but it's smaller than my other caps, with less drape.  The brim is wider, however -- in fact it's really too wide for my narrow face.  Notice how it sticks out way past the edge of my forehead.



You can see the difference when I place the two caps side by side.



Anyway, today I took the tweed hat apart and made a note of how it is constructed.  I also compared it to the two newsboys I purchased at J.J. Hat Center.













You can view all the construction -- or should I say destruction photos here.

There are a few newsboy cap patterns circulating out there but none of them seems quite right to me -- not enough panels, too wide a brim, etc.  There is a pattern on Etsy I've seen that looks promising, but I haven't tried it out.   As for the Big Four, forget it -- there were plenty of cap patterns over the decades, but not an authentic eight-panel newsboy as far as I can tell.

And so it begins....

I'm not in any rush to do this, so expect posts to be spaced out rather widely -- or not, we'll see.  My next step is to press one of the panels and use it to trace a pattern.

Any success with newsboy -- or other -- cap projects?  Advice/caveats?

Have a great day, everybody!