Sew Easy Hat From Old Sweater

With an old wool sweater and fleece hoodie you can make a warm pill box hat in less than a day. This sweater has several moth holes but is 100% lambswool so it's very soft.  Even though it is soft, line the hat with a complementary  or contrasting colored fleece to prevent any itchy ears.  The stripes are about 2 inches before the sweater is felted.

Step 1: Materials needed to make warm hat

You will need to make this warm hat you will need: 
                   -  100% wool sweater ready to be discarded 
                                (This sweater has 2 moth holes and the stripes are about 2 inches
                   -  a fleece or velour jacket or hoodie ready to be discarded
                   -  paper to make pattern and a pencil
                   -  an 8 inch plate
                   -  a ruler
                   -  scissors
                   -  pins to attach pattern to sweater
                   -  washing machine and detergent
                   -  pair of flip flops or rubber balls
                   -  sewing machine able to sew through thick material

Comments

[saosport]

sweat thanks for the great instructions

[cgurlz]

In my city the thrift stores have half off sales once a month. I am always on the look out for good wool or cashmere sweaters to make things like this.

[SueHeiss]

Great hat, pix and instructions.  I'm going to make one.  Thanks.

[johnkos]

i don't sew anything more than missing buttons, but i find these instructions easy to understand and the project really cool!

[maresan]

I love these instructions. Being a sewer myself, it seemed to be very clear and precise. It makes a lovely hat and a great way to recycle clothing.
Mare

[kaalia6]

What a great idea. I never knew you could make felt from a wool sweater! If you had no sewing machine and felt ambitious, it's simple enough that you could even do it all by hand.

[deesome]

Candace--I know nothing about crafts like this and so am totally lost, but I think you were very thorough.  It's a cool idea and the hats look neat!  Karen

[jnlann]

I barely sew, but this project looks clear and easy enough for even me.
I like how in Step 9 you anticipate how we may need to troubleshoot.
As a mom, I'd love it if you added to Step 4 some rules of thumb for how to measure for a child's hat.  It'd be so cute on kids, and what a great way to use a sweater/fleece they've grown out of! 
A clarity suggestion: Since you have partially overlapping directions for two different materials, it'd be helpful to add to Step 1 something like, "See Step 5 for materials you'd need for a fleece hat."  And then add to Step 5, "Follow steps 6-15 for either a wool or fleece hat."
BTW, I love how you chose a striped sweater for your wool hat example--what a brilliant way to illustrate how the wool shrinks and felts!

[maliemac]

Candace, it sounds like a great project but not being a big sewer I did get confused especially at step 7 and 8.  The hat itself looks beautiful though. mjm

[sedowning]

Candace: I think your felting instructions are really good. I was a bit confused about the rectangles, but have realized that it takes two of each type of fiber to make the band around the head. I should try this - I'm not too crafty (in a good way) but I think that even I could manage this. - Sarah