I searched the net just to see if I could find a tutorial for a flat top beanie, to no avail. All were the round top beanie or skull cap. In the book I mentioned of my previous post, no instructions were included, with the picture of this style. Simple enough, so I brainstormed & came up with this:
The style is perfect for a boy or girl. I made the one above a bit too big for my Lil man, much to Panda's delight. I clipped a piece of green sweater for the skull face and embroidered with crochet thread for the edging, face & bones. Do not judge me on my embroidery skill, to which I have none.
You will need 1 old baseball cap with a visor NOT made with cardboard. The Captain has received many "throw away" company logo caps to which I upcycled here. The visor is a hard foam plastic. In other words....Rain proof & hand washable. I also used 1 large or extra large size mens knitted sweater. The kind with the big waistband. If you want yours to have the look like above, try to go with ones that have the bar weave at least 3-5 inches tall on the bottom of the sweater. You will see the example in our picture below.
Step 1: After measuring the head of your recipient, cut the visor away from the cap head portion. Using an exacto knife, it went very smooth & could be "shaved" of any bumps. For a child, you will want to trim off the brim- about 1 inch in the U shape like this:
Step 2: Using the head measurements of your recipient ,cut the knit sweater from bottom.(Panda is a 20 inch circumference from the forehead -going down to about 2 inches above the skull base- full round). The height of fabric I cut is 6 1/2 inches x 20 inches. Remember it is a knit and will stretch. No need to cut a seam allowance. Cut from the sweater like this:
Step 3: That excess of the waist will be used for covering the visor. Easy way to measure, cover the visor to be sure you have enough for side seams & 2 fabric sides (a slight stretch is just fine). If not, just cut from higher up on the sweater.OR if the sleeves have the same the weave, cut 5 inches from the opening & cut open one seam side. I only see it as an issue if you did not use the sizes I mentioned above:
Step 4: Cut a CIRCLE from the the front or back of the sweater that is about 2 inches smaller round then CIRCUMFERENCE of the head. (in mine it is 18 inches for the circle) This will be your hat TOP.
Step 5: Sew a tube with the head band portion like this:
Step 6: Now sew the visor cover knit fabric in a tube- the short sides sewn together. Then 1 long side, being sure the bar weave portion is turned like in my pictures:
Step 7: Fit the visor inside and sew around it for the form fitting like this:
Step 8: Clip off the excess fabric where you have sewn the around the visor and sew again along to reinforce the seam.
Step 9: You will sew the upper side of your visor knit to the head front portion:
Step 10: Now slip the visor back in it's casing and sew it in like this:
You can clip away the excess fabric or sew a binding to cover up the excess. I left mine open since it does not show when wearing.
Step 11: With the hat inside out, sew the circle flat top to the head band portion and your done!
Embroider something cool like a skull/cross bones as I did, buy an iron on patch or leave it blank. Get creative and personalize it to the person whom will be it's new owner.
Now I have orders of 5 hats to do so I bid you.....
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie
