Project Journal: Drafting and Sewing a Knit Beanie and a Hooded Scarf
In today’s post, I’ll share the details on drafting and sewing my own winter hats including the fabric and measurements I used and instructions for sewing your own.
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Hello my mathy-sewist friends! Today I'm wrapping up Project 006—Winter Hats with a Project Journal. I made both a beanie and a hooded scarf and I'm overall pleased with both. In this post, I'll share the drafting measurements I used, what I'll do differently next time, notes on fabric. For the beanie, there are text instructions and a video. For the hooded scarf, there text instructions and a few photos.
If you need to catch up on the How to Draft Winter Hats series, links are below.
PROJECT ONE—Knit Beanie
For this knit beanie, I used a deadstock cotton slub sweater knit fabric from my stash. This fabric is a medium weight and relatively easy to sew with. I didn’t have other plans for it so I thought it would be good for testing out the beanie. This fabric has a Fabric Stretch Percentage of 60%. The drafting tutorial is linked above.
For my pattern I used the following numbers/measurements:
A Head circumference 22"
B Negative Ease Multiplier .97
C Ear Lobe to Ear Lobe 18"
D Ease Length 0"
E Folded Brim Length 2.5"
F Seam allowance 3/8"
I’m generally happy with the drafting but if I do it again, I’d try making the darts at the crown shorter. And maybe add a little bit a length for a longer fold. I also need to figure out the perfect placement for the opening when sewing the final seam so that it’s hidden inside the hat during wearing.
I wasn’t sure if I’d wear it much because it’s not my best color. But, I can see wearing it around the house for extra warmth. I prefer to keep the house cooler and wear layers so a hat would definitely help.
How to Sew the Beanie
This hat is very quick to sew but the pattern piece is unusual and kind of hard to describe without visuals so I made a quick video. Click here to watch the video on Vimeo. It’s about 3.5 minutes long but should help if you need visuals.
Below are the basic steps of how I assembled this hat. I used my regular sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch, 1.5 wide and 2.2 long.
Step 1: Fold the long cut edges towards the center aligning the raw edges of the darts. Stitch the four darts at the outer corners of the hat.
Step 2: Fold the hat in half, with right sides together so that all of the raw edges are aligned. Pin, nesting the seams from the darts, or with darts pressed open.
Step 3: Stitch leaving an opening to turn the hat right side out. (As mentioned, I need to experiment to find the best location for this; probably closer to the crown than to the middle of the hat.)
Step 4: Turn the hat right side out through the opening. Stitch the opening closed with a hand needle and thread.
To wear the hat, push one end of the crown inside the other, with wrong sides together. Fold up the brim to the desired length.
PROJECT TWO—Hooded Scarf
I made a fully lined hood with one rectangle for the hood and one for the scarf. It was fairly easy to sew and is very thick (which hopefully translates to warm!). For the exterior fabric, I used a plaid fabric that I believe is at least part wool. The lining fabric is a black sweatshirt knit. I selected the black so that it would kind of disappear and let the plaid be the feature of the hood.
The plaid fabric was given to me years ago by my parents. They bought it on a trip to Kenya and I believe it is a Maassai Mara Shuka fabric. I admittedly know very little about the history of this fabric. I really love the vibrant colors of the fabric and I’m glad that I was finally able to use some of it. I’d love to find something else to do with it.
Drafting the Lined Hooded Scarf
I used the drafting method that I outlined in this post with two small changes. First, I sewed a "lining" to the scarf to finish the edges and increase the thickness. Second, I eliminated the seam at the center back of the scarf. My lining fabric was very wide so I used the entire width.
A Back of Head 20"
B Hood Width Ease 2"
C Chin to Chin 22"
D Hood Length Ease 4"
E Neck Length 5"
F Scarf Width Ease 5"
G Scarf Length 62"
H Seam allowance .5"
I Hem allowance 1.5"
J Hood Facing Depth 2.5"
How to Sew a Lined Hooded Scarf
Step 1: Stitch hood facing to hood exterior along facing edge. Grade seam allowance. Topstitch if desired.
Step 2: Fold the hood and lining where the hood will sit at the top of the head. Stitch the Center Back seam of the exterior fabric. Repeat for the lining fabric. See photo above before sewing the center back seams.
Step 3: Fold the hood with wrong sides together and press along the fold for the facing.
Step 4: Pin the hood to the scarf exterior fabric matching the center back seam and with the exterior fabric of the hood against the right side of the exterior scarf fabric. Baste the hood in place. See photo above.
Step 5: Pin the scarf lining to the scarf with right sides together. Stitch around all four edges, leaving an opening to turn it right side out. See photo above for in-progress pinning.
Step 6: Grade seam allowance and trim corners. Turn right side out through opening. Close opening with a hand needle and thread or with topstitching. I topstitched around the edge of my scarf.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a fun project to sew because I don't think I've ever sewn anything like it. And I even had to adjust my construction plans mid-sew. I don't plan on making more hoods but I do think I will wear this, probably with a beanie for extra warmth and wind protection. That said, I can’t wait for warmer weather! Summer can’t come soon enough for me. :)
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Happy mathing!
Beth