Friends, after the excitement of yesterday's musical comedy vlog extravaganza, anything that followed was bound to be an anticlimax.
Today I decided I'd give the bucket hat from McCalls 2205 a try, just to warm myself up for the week ahead. Maybe I was tired, maybe I started too late in the day and worked too long -- this project is not giving me a whole lot of joy.
I've never made a bucket hat before and I consider this first stab to be a potentially wearable muslin, though perhaps not by me or anyone I know.
The pattern itself is just three pieces. The instructions have you interface only the top brim.
For fabric, I decided to use this tropical print cotton MPB reader "Babe" sent me a few years ago. I think it's perfect for a summer hat. Since it's a heavier weight -- similar to quilting cotton -- it doesn't need that much extra support.
I used two interfacings from Fashion Sewing Supply: on the outer brim, ProWoven Super-Crisp. On the top of the crown, ProWoven Light-Crisp. I was going to interface the sides too but decided not to: the hat is fully lined with a layer of the same fabric; that should be enough.
Here's how things look after nearly an hour of stitching concentric rings of topstitching on the brim with my Singer 201. I did this by (tired) eye; it could be worse.
My biggest concern is that the brim is going to be too floppy and wavy despite being interfaced. That's actually the way the hat on the pattern envelope looks -- not a good sign!
I think the trick to avoiding the waviness is to use a stiffer fabric with less interfacing. But maybe it's unavoidable. Perhaps I should have interfaced both sides of the brim instead of just the outward-facing side. If you know, please share.
I expect to finish this tomorrow. I also thought about making the shirt until I realized the shirt pattern doesn't even include a back yoke. What's that about?
Anyway, it's nearly bedtime and I'm bushed.
Have a great day, everybody!
The time I made a renaissance cap, I used buckram fabric as interfacing so it wouldn't be too floppy and it worked. The cap retained most of its stiffness. So some buckram might make your bucket hat sturdy.
ReplyDeleteI have made this same hat before, easing the brim into the body of the hat is a bit of a pain, but the hat comes out nice. It was to floppy and a bit to tight on my head.....gave me headaches. So i gave the hat away.
ReplyDeleteI made a similar hat with similar results. It's just too floppy even with the stiffest interfacing I had, normally used for tote bags. The stitching helped but not enough. I'm considering threading some fishing line through the seam allowance at the edge of the brim.
ReplyDeleteI will be making my first hat this weekend to go with a toddler outfit that I am making. I have never made a hat before. Never used interfacing either. Ordered some.
ReplyDeleteMy head is really big, especially for a woman, so I tried sewing my own hat. It turned out not too bad, but yes very floppy. However, my pattern is more oval then round and I think that helps with the fit. I'm going to try it again on a black denim from salvaged jeans. I use the pocket as the top of the hat
ReplyDeleteI made a super wide brim with Vogue 7600 - used # 808 fusible craft interfacing! It feels really stiff before you get it sewn in, but does a great job on hats!
ReplyDeleteUse home dec fabric without interfacing and your problems will be over. There are so many cool fabrics to choose from that the sky's the limit.
ReplyDeleteIs this for the whole hat? This sounds like a good idea. I have used this fabric before in making things in the past.
DeleteYes for the whole hat. I use it for broad brimmed, floppy 60's sun hats. Works perfectly.
DeleteBuckram.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I would love to have the hat. But I have a LARGE head so it probably wouldn't fit me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe starch the hat? my nan is always preaching the benefits of starching!
ReplyDeletefrankie
http://www.knitwits-owls.blogspot.co.uk/
although the interfacing will play a role for the sloppyness of the hat, the main reason is the pattern. on the pics the outer brim seems to be nearly completely flat and therefore it is wavy. but when you use a haeavy interfacing it will result in a hat that looks more like a mounties hat than a bucket hat.
ReplyDeletethe outer brim should be more cone shaped like the one of the simplicity 5581(from your june 2012 post).
Also a pattern that is made for a round head will always look a little more floppy on an oval head. your pattern seems to be more on the round side.
I made a bucket hat out of denim (custom made pattern). it is not floppy at all although i didn´t use any interfacing.
You said so perfectly what I was thinking. I think it is an issue of the shape of the brim.
DeleteI bought a very similar hat to protect my face from the sun. The fabric is a twill and the brim sandwiched what almost feels like a thin flexible plastic so it's floppy but not so much that it flaps in a light breeze. It's pretty stiff and washes really well but isn't really fold-able (but I can lay it flat and crush the top and sides without harm in, say, a suitcase).
ReplyDeleteI didn't used to like Hawaiian-style prints but now I really do and your example is a great one. It would make a fantastic shirt.
I think a brim that size on a bucket hat kind of benefits from being a little bit floppy.
ReplyDeleteUse Buckram for your hat and you could use Home Dec Cotton fabric or twill. Lot's of fabric choices. Buckram works and sews well. Cool Fabric choice! Also, for the shirt. Cut the shirt pattern add seam alloances for a yoke.
ReplyDeleteThe brim pieces seam lines look like they are two different angles (one more straight across, the other at an angle). And why is the brim in two pieces? That can't be helping. I went through a similar issue recently in making the stylin' teen a manly DoraExplorer hat, and there was some question about the topstitching sewing direction and tension making waves. A narrower brim resolved most of this. A hatmaking book would probably solve the rest; I think Ann Albrizio's Classic Millinery Techniques (a library read) had something about a really WIDE topstitched brim and controlling waves.
ReplyDeleteBucket hats really should be a walk in the park; I mean, how many pieces? How many seams? And there's the irony; not enough.
I just bought a new sun hat, and it has some kind of wire inside the circumference of the brim. Perhaps you could try something like that?
ReplyDelete