Ombre Sweater Hat

When I saw this cardigan, I loved the neck detail and the buttons. I was sure that I could flip that over and make a hat using the neckband as a headband. Didn't know how, exactly, but I was pretty sure I could do it. Plus, for $4, how could I go wrong?

Like with the cashmere hat, I cut open the seams -- but not completely! I needed some of the sweater to complete the bottom of the beret. I cut the sides open to the armpit, and the seams of the raglan sleeves a little. 

I placed the round beret pattern piece over the top of the sweater, to get a general idea of how far out I needed to cut, in this case, about three inches out from the neckband.

I couldn't find any chalk, and my tailor's pencil wasn't marking the knit, so I used a crayon.

I didn't want to pin my pattern piece to the sweater and try to cut it that way, so after I marked a few dots all around the neckline, I traced the circle on a piece of cardboard to use that for a template to mark my cut line.

Looks awful, but it worked fairly well.

I lined up the edges of my template with the dots I'd marked, tugging the sweater in place where I needed to. Pressing down hard on the cardboard, I marked the line. (Note to self: get chalk.) After the work I had to do for this, cutting the top piece was a cinch.

I had initially planned to line the top part of the hat with some extra suit lining, but decided not to after recalling what a pain in the butt the satin was from the cashmere hat. I sewed around the edge with a quarter-inch seam allowance, then did a tight zigzag between that and the edge to prevent raveling.

It ruffled the edge beautifully! I turned the hat right-side out and topstitched through the zigzag (inside), right along the edge of the hat. I wanted to stiffen it a little more.

I went around a second time in the same place, this time pulling the knit taut using both hands to encourage ruffling and reenforcing the hem.

In these photos, I had not yet done the handsewing of the buttoned cuff.

Sewn placket

In the end, I have a very funky and unique beret, that looks a little less like a beret and a little like textile art. I love that the button placket stiffens the side, so I thought I'd try to treat the shoulder seams the same way I did the crown's hem, but without the ruffling. I zigzagged up and down those seams, and what do you know - it worked! I might be able to get them even stiffer, but I don't want to mess with it when I'm happy with how it is now. My other option would be to sew in some boning, and that might be overboard.

Those seams did curl a little, but not very noticeably from the outside.

Proud of it? You bet!

I am going to need to annex that closet soon...

Recycled Sweater Beret

Went to Savers yesterday to look for corner shelving for the laundry room; ended up with a bag full of clothes to repurpose and no shelves. *sigh* On the other hand, I scored two cashmere sweaters for $14. I had intended to turn them both into berets, but one actually fit, so one sweater for me! I bought 4 knit tops, 3 sweaters and a sheer scarf for $30. (Shop on Mondays with their club card and save 25%.)

100% cashmere... yum!

I loved the colors of the scarf with the sweater, and wanted to try to incorporate it into the finished hat, but first I needed a hat.

I turned the sweater inside out and cut off all the seams so that I had 4 flat pieces: front, back, and sleeves. I laid out the pattern pieces to find the placement. The wider bottom piece fit on the front of the sweater, and the top went on the sweater back. The sleeve was just a tiny bit too short to accommodate the headband, so I had to find a different material for that. I used a mossy green velvet leftover from a dress Mom made my daughter a few years ago.

I needed loops to hold the scarf on the headband once the hat was finished, so I used kiwi green ribbon and machine-basted the top of the headband so I could sew it onto the hat without worrying about the ribbon.

Pinned, not yet basted.

The hat went together fairly well. The satin lining was pretty slippery against the sweater, but I was worried about raveling, so I double-stitched the outside of the beret.

Inside seam of the beret, double-stitched.

I was a bit concerned that it would make the edge too stiff, but I didn't dare clip it and risk everything falling apart. Turned out just fine.

Once the body was all sewn together, I could add my be-ribboned hatband. I double-stitched that, too, and zigzagged around the edge.

It's a little messy in there, but it won't show.

The scarf fits nicely in the loops, but it has a tendency to fall to the bottom of the loop;
I need to tack the bottom of the ribbon on the band to prevent that.

The whole thing was made in a morning. I cut apart the sweater last night, but I didn't cut the pieces until this morning. Berets are practically instant-gratification millinery. :) I'm so happy with this. It's pretty, it's warm, the scarf makes it a little different. It can be removed and a different scarf swapped in, or the hat can be worn without a scarf.

Since I already had the satin lining material, velvet for the band, ribbon and thread, this cashmere beret only cost $8. And since I have the sleeves and pieces of the front and back, I have more than enough of the sweater left over to make a pillbox. Maybe embellished with little dusty pink roses made like the ones in tutorial below, and ribbon embroidery.

http://capungmungil.blogspot.com/2011/10/diy-felt-rose-flower-tutorial.html

________________
I have to laugh. My husband just commented that if I keep making hats like this, I'll have to open a store to sell them. I told him that I'd already reached a solution: I'll annex the guestroom closet for hat storage. "Everyone should have a hat closet!" I told him. He seemed unimpressed with my genius. "You have some too!" I pointed out. Still nothing. Perhaps I merely rendered him speechless.

Insanity Is Progressive

So I've made a few hats, and it was fun. Thinking about modifications, different materials, embellishment... I swear, it feels like my brain is on fire. I went to two different fabric stores on Friday, and Friday night I also hit a thrift store. I have more than enough stuff to keep me busy for a while, but I am dying to get into the garments I bought to remake into hats.

I found three blazers, three blouses and a skirt, and have already deconstructed one of the blazers (saving the lining to line the hat!) and will hack up the others soon. Because they are fitted, I don't have large seamless pieces to work with, but I think I can still manage.

Here's my haul:

I also bought Vogue patterns 7890, 8681, 8869 (left to right, below) and already had McCall's 2692 (see the Hats post from a few days ago). Plus I found an excellent video tutorial for a pillbox hat that I really want to try.

I'm going to use the instructions from the pillbox video first, on some scrap fabric before I commit to something I really want to turn out right. I want that practice hat to be something I don't mind if it doesn't work -- but that I'd still wear if it does! Once I know I can make it work, I'll use my fabric salvage. Then I think I have to make that patchwork beret; love that! And I'm pretty sure I must make some more of those little top hats.

I had a crazy thought this morning, before the caffeine hit my bloodstream: Wouldn't it be awesome to make a hat a day? Then I realized how insane that would be; 365 hats?! Even if I gave a bunch away, what it the hell would I do with them all? OK, hat a week, then, my idiot brain says. No -- 52 hats is still unmanageable. Fine, how about one a month? Fine. Fine. OK! (Ahem... everyone has conversations with themselves, right..?)

SO! A hat a month, and if I make more, fine, but I want to do one "official" hat each month, that will be meaningful in some way to me regarding the month/season/holiday.

Yes, indeed. Insanity is progressive. By the end of the year, I'll need a fetching canvas-and-leather chapeau to go with my straightjacket. 

Old Things Made New

I have skirts I love, but never wear because they're too long. Two things can happen: I can stuff them back in the closet and ignore them, or I can alter them so they suit better. (Or I could donate them.) Since I've already altered some of my other too-long skirts, this was a no-brainer.

 

PROJECT ONE

Ankle-length skirts on someone who is already short just makes a person look like they're standing in a hole. I don't want to look like I'm standing in hole.

There are three side seams in this skirt. The two in front I'm going to pull up the skirt about an inch above where the black starts and sew it in place. I have some velvet ribbon I'm going to sew over the seams to emphasize and make it look like the button I'm adding is functional and not merely decorative. I suppose I could stop there, and leave the back alone, but it's really quite long, and I don't want that much of a length difference between front and back...

 

...so I'll pull it up too, wrapping it over the waistband and stitching it in place. I also have a pretty black lace I'm going to sew onto the hem before I start all this. It's sort of steampunk-inspired; Steampunk Light, maybe.

PROJECT TWO

Same skirt, different colors. But for this one, I want to try something different. I'm going to open up those three seams about halfway, and stitch the corner of one "panel" to the next seam, then the next panel to the next seam, all the way around.  I have no idea how that's going to work...

...but it probably won't look anything at all like that. In the above photo, I haven't ripped open any seams yet, so who knows how it's going to look. If I don't like it, I can try something else!

PROJECT THREE

I love the colors in this skirt, but it's soooo long! I don't want to cut it off and lose any of the color or sequins, so...

...I'm going to turn it into a dress. It needs a wider belt (white?) and I think I'm going to try and make a shrug for it, too. The straps will be made from the tie that was in the waistband.

PROJECT FOUR

Cute dress, eh? Goodwill find, and it fits nicely... except it's too long. Gonna hem that baby to knee length, and maybe (maybe), I'll open the side seams a little for a sexy little glimpse of thigh.

PROJECT FIVE A, B, C

This is a tan polyester lace t-shirt, lined with more polyester. I'm going to rip out the lining and turn the lace into a shrug. It may or may not work well with the black and tan skirt. We'll see.

I got two more tees that I thought might work well as shrugs, but maybe not, after all. The tutorial for the shrugs (link above) says to remove the neckband, which is one of the things I like about black tee #1. Nothing fancy, just a small braid of the knit, but I don't want to remove it altogether. I'm going to see if I can find a way to keep it.

With black tee #2, not only does it have a neckband that I like, but it also has a tied keyhole back. Again, not sure how to make it work, but I'm going to give it a go.

PROJECT SIX

And here's the part where I've pretty much gone a little crazy. The only thing of the four items above that fits reasonably well is the cotton plaid capris, and they're a little big. The solid green capris (left) are a linen/rayon blend, as is the striped skirt. The paisley skirt (right) is polyester. The two skirts on the right are new, tags still in them, and much (much!) too big. I bought them basically for the fabric. In fact, all four of those pieces were basically because I loved the colors. I have in my head a dress or a skirt or an outfit... made from all those things. And no idea how I'm going to do it! :D All I know is, if I had not bought those two skirts, I'd have regretted it for a long time. I don't know what it is about them, the soft mossy green, mocha and beige just really grabbed me, and I love the idea of using a stripe with the paisley, and the plaid with both.

Since I have no idea how I'm going to pull those things together, I'll sit on that for a while, until I know exactly what I want to do. Just the two skirts would be fun as a spiral, like this (version #2). Not as colorful with only two fabrics, since I don't think I could get the pattern piece onto the pants (each gore needs a 25" x 23" piece of fabric), without piecing them or having a seam in the middle of the gore, but we'll see. Maybe it will work... or maybe I don't want it to. The different fabric weights, sturdy-to-filmy, might make for a bizarre skirt. Or it might be amazing! 

At any rate, I have more than enough to keep me busy and out of trouble while I wait for the weather to improve long enough to bring home the plywood for my closet overhaul.

Orphanware™ - The Tutorial

Back in February, I posted about my glass and china project. More recently, I figured out a way to eliminate the scads of jewelry boxes I have and incorporating the sparkle of glass and the delicacy of china to both decorate and organize an awkward space in one of my closets. I can't claim that I came up with the idea on my own, I was inspired by something I saw at Martha Stewart online.

I suppose I've been putting way too much thought into it, as usual, but I've been trying to find the "just right" piece to go with the orphaned saucers and small plates. I really like my adaptation of using glass pieces with the saucers; it allows the beauty of the china to show (and is sparkly!). I've also been playing with stacking the pieces to make tiers, something I've seen on Etsy from quite a few sellers. Call it upcycling or repurposing, or whatever crafty buzzword you like, it's easy to do, inexpensive, and personal. If you do it yourself, you get exactly what you want, with pieces you found. I'm calling these sets Orphanware™* because I'm using single pieces from what was once a set (usually), even the glassware in many cases were single pieces. I don't like to take one piece from a pile, in case someone else comes along later, wanting to buy a set of the same pattern, but that's me.

There are probably tons of tutorials on the net for this, but I haven't seen them, so I'm doing my own since I have a bunch I'm about to start gluing anyway.

FIRST, gather your pieces. I don't recommend raiding your stash of family heirlooms, but hit the thrift stores - Goodwill, The Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity's ReStore are all excellent places for finding pieces, and you can also check The Thrift Shopper for other stores in your area. The nice thing is, many of these stores are charity organizations and by shopping there you're also doing some good in your neighborhood. Prices can vary widely, but plan on paying 50¢ to $1 for saucers and small plates, maybe $2-3 for glass particularly if it's lead crystal and the people pricing recognize it. If you're buying saucers, try to find glass pieces that fit inside the well for the cup (there may be a correct term for that, but I don't know it). Saucers are nice because you don't have to worry about centering anything like you might on a bread and butter plate. I also tried to find glassware that was compatible with the design on the plate. (Perhaps you're less obsessive than I...)

SECOND, soak 'em. Those price stickers are a pain in the butt. The best way to get them off, without leaving a bunch of glue behind, is to soak them in the sink in hot soapy water. Leave them in long enough and you'll probably find they slip off on their own. After they've soaked and you've gotten all the stickers off, wash your pieces carefully. Some of them may be antique or at least vintage, so scrubbing them isn't a good idea. They will need to be completely dry before you start gluing.

THIRD, assembly. I use E-6000 adhesive. It's industrial strength (literally) and stinky, but it works great. For some reason, the tube comes with warnings, but not directions, so save the cardboard that the tube was carded on. If you, like I, threw away the card, the link above has all the instructions you need. If you've never used it before, here's a word of caution, squeeze the tube veeeeerrrrry carefully. It keeps coming out of the metal tube even after you stop squeezing. Once glued, set the pieces aside, out of the way, where you won't be tempted to mess with them. Leave them be for at least 24 hours. If you're making tiered pieces, don't apply your second tier until the adhesive on the first one has cured.

So that's the basic process. Simple, eh? Here's the photos from this latest batch of Orphanware™

This saucer has light blue flowers, and the candle holder accents that.

Because the wire looped around the bottom, I had to use quite a bit of glue to make it enough to adhere to the plate. What's there in the photo wasn't enough - I had to add more. The glue in the center isn't functional, it's to scrape off the excess glue that kept coming out of the tube.

When you have something that's larger than the well in your saucer (or no well at all), you have to eyeball it, or get all anal and measure. It helps if there's a design to follow.

If what you're gluing is transparent, you can also look down inside to see if you're centered.

With no well, it can be tricky to get everything centered. This still needs adjusting.

This saucer has a design in the center of the well, and is too pretty to cover. The candlestick is the perfect way to use the dish, raise it up and make a small pedestalled dish.

The easiest way to do that, including making tiers, is to flip it over. Much easier to get it centered that way.

An example of both a well-fitting piece inside the saucer well, and the glassware complementing the china.

A saucer, a very small brass vase, and a butter plate, soon to be a tiered set.

I like to rotate the piece I'm gluing, to try and distribute the adhesive evenly. This will probably put glue where you don't want it, but once cured, the adhesive can be scraped away.

I did what I suggested you NOT do: I didn't wait for the first two pieces to cure before adding the third. (I'm impatient. Don't be me. Really.)

One reason not to be me, it's much harder to get things centered when you're craning your neck to see the bottom. Also, that brass vase wasn't completely level on top. I had to position the butter plate where I wanted it, tipping slightly forward. (Tipping to the side accents the fact that it's not a perfect vertical line.)

One of the hazards of gluing clear glass on an edge - you're bound to make a bit of a mess with the glue, smearing it inside, where you won't be able to scrape it off once the top piece is glued on.

One more example of pieces fitting well. The top of that candlestick fit perfectly into the bottom of the bowl. Also, the finish of both is a warm white, almost a bone color. Together, it nearly looks like they were always that way.

Other than jewelry or makeup organizers, what else can you do with these? Candy dishes, desk organizers, saucers on pedestals make cute individual cupcake plates... you could even take one plate/bowl combo and put some Easter grass in it with a decorated egg and make individual place settings for Easter brunch. My mom uses the one I have her to organize sweetener packets, and it's way cuter than the things sold for that purpose. This is so very easy to do, and the cost is so small, there's no reason for you not to play with this idea on your own.

* Yes, I am being facetious with the ™ on Orphanware. Because I can. Because it's silly.