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Dino Hat Tutorial

February 1, 2012 · 1 Comment

dino hat

Boy 3 wearing his dino hat

Whenever the boys and I are out, people always remark on the dinosaur hats and are almost always stunned when I tell them that I made them myself. 🙂 Yet they are suprisingly easy to make. Although there are people out there who are very skilled at designing things and making patterns, I am not one of those people. The extent of my training was my mum teaching me how to use a sewing machine when I was ten. 🙂 What I have discovered though (and what I’m going to share with you now) is that it is actually possible to make all sorts of things either without a pattern or with a very simple pattern that you can make yourself, even if, like me, you can’t really draw. 🙂

Anyway, I’d decided that I wanted to make dino hats for the boys and my nephew, but I didn’t want it to look like they had killed some dinosaurs and turned the heads into hats. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I came up with this.

This is what you will need:

  • Some large sheets of paper. I like to use greaseproof paper, but newspaper or A3 copier paper will do.
  • A pencil and eraser
  • Some tin foil
  • Fleece fabric in 2 contrasting colours
  • Basic sewing equipment

 

1. Find the head that you are making

dino hat

The hat will fit and Boy 1’s little brain will be safe from aliens 🙂

the hat for and wrap it in tin foil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Carefully remove the tin foil hat from

dino hat

Squashed hat

the head and squash it flat (the hat not the head 🙂 ). Try to squash it in such a way that the squashed hat is the sideways profile of the head, with the front on the left and the back on the right.

 

 

 

3. Now draw round the squashed foil hat

dino hat

Basic hat shape with extra cm all the way around

onto the large piece of paper. Now you can be sure that the hat will fit! Draw round it again, this time allowing an extra centimetre all the way round. This is to allow for seams.

 

 

 

 

4. Now draw simply a dinosaur head on one

dino hat

It’s starting to look dinosaury!

side and a tail on the other. If it looks wrong, rub it out and have another go. When you have something you are happy with, draw round it again allowing an extra cm. Don’t worry if it is not perfect, quirkiness is part of the appeal of handmade.

 

 

 

5. Now draw some spines. How many will

dino hat

The spines are all just triangles

depend on the size of the head the hat is for. I gave my dinosaur 9 spines, 6 larger ones along the body and three smaller ones along the tail.

 

 

 

 

6. Now you need to make the pattern for

dino hat

2 triangles for the spines

the triangles, so draw 2, one a similar size as the larger ones and the other similar in size to the smaller ones. Don’t forget to draw round them again with an extra cm!

 

 

 

 

7. The pattern’s almost done now. The last

dino hat

Use the thread to measure between the xs

part to draw is the little pointy pear shap that will give the dinosaur’s head a 3D shape. To make this part, draw an x on the dinosaur’s nose and another x on the back of its head. Using some thread or string, measure the distance between the two xs and cut or mark the thread.

 

 

 

8. Now draw a straight line the same

dino hat

This little piece will give the dinosaur a nice, chunky little head

length as the piece of thread. Then draw a sort of teardrop shape, pointed at both ends. To get each half the same, draw one half, then fold the paper in half along the line and trace it. If you are using newspaper, cut around it roughly, fold in half and then cut it out properly, like you would make a chain of paper people 🙂

 

 

8. Now cut out the pattern pieces, pin them to the fabric and cut them out. For the main part of the hat, the stretch will need to go from left to right rather than up and down, so stretch the fabric before you pin the pattern pieces on. You will need to cut 2 of the main hat shapes and the little extra head part from the main colour, and from the contrasting fabric, 2 triangles for each spine. For my 9 spines, I cut 12 larger triangles and 6 smaller triangles.

9. Now we can get sewing! First of all the

dino hat

Trim the seams but don’t cut the stitches!

spines. Pair the triangles up and sew them along 2 sides. Then trim the seams to avoid bulging and cut the top flat. Then turn right side out.

 

 

 

 

10. On both the main hat pieces embroider

dino hat

Embroider legs on both pieces

some legs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. With the wrong sides together, pin the

dino hat

Pin the little head piece to one of the main hat pieces

little head piece to one of the main hat pieces. The fat end needs to be at the front of the dinosaur’s head. Then sew it.

 

 

 

 

 

12. Now take the triangles that you have sewn

dino hat

Arrange the spines with the largest ones in the middle

together and arrange them in a way that you like.

 

 

 

 

 

13. Now we’re going to make a little sandwich.

dino hat

The spines are pinned in place

Take the main dinosaur shape that you have sewn the little head piece to and arrange the spines in the order you have decided, upside down, on the right side. The open ends of the spines will need to be lined up with the dinosaur’s back. Pin in place.

 

Now take the other dinosaur piece and put

dino hat

Nearly ready to sew up

it on top of the bit with the spines on, the right side of the fabric facing inwards. Match the edges up as well as you can.

 

 

 

 

 

Pin it together. Remember you have the

dino hat

Constructing the head is a little bit fiddly

extra bit for the head. When you get to the head, pin the main piece to the little head piece like you did earlier.

Here’s a little tip: before you sew it up, make sure that the ends of the spines are poking out of the edge of the sandwich, otherwise you might find that you’ve missed a bit and you’ll have to do a repair job with a needle and thread.

 

14. Now sew it up. You won’t be able to sew it in one go because of the dinosaur’s head. Take your time and do it carefully to minimise the chances of holes in the seams. I’ve been there. It’s v. annoying.

15. Once it’s all sewn up, turn it out the right way. Removing as many pins as you can first will reduce the likelhood of stabbing yourself in the finger.

16. If you’ve got this far, well done!! The last

dino hat

Finished!!!

thing left to do is hem the bottom of the hat.

 

 

 

 

 

So there you go. One hat made from a do-it-yourself pattern. If you make a dino hat, please leave a comment and a link to a photo. I’d love to see them. Just have a go, don’t be scared!! What other kinds of hats can you make using the same basic principles? Hmm, butterflies, cats, a whole menagerie of hats!!

dino hat

Raahhhh!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed In: Sewing Projects / Tagged: children, hat, how to, no pattern, toddler

Jewellery Bag Tutorial

January 8, 2012 · Leave a Comment

jewellery bag tutorial

Jewellery bag made from upcycled fabric

Now that Christmas is finally over I can concentrate on making things that are not jam or dinosaur hats. I’ve made some tiny purses and some earrings, but the jewellery bags have given me trouble. It has to be lined because nobody wants to find that they cannot remove their favourite earrings from the little bag because they’ve got caught in the seams, but the biggest problem I’ve had is with the casing for the ribbon. I could not figure out a way to finish the ends of the casing tidily and leave a bit more fabric at the top. One option would have been to put buttonholes in near the top, only my sewing machine doesn’t do buttonholes. So I decided that the casing would just have to be at the top and I would have to do some embroidery or something on the front to make it special.

Here is how to make it.

You will need two pieces of fabric, one for the outer and one for the lining. You might want a fancy bit and a plain bit, or two plain bits in different colours, or a piece with a larger pattern and a second with a smaller pattern. Whatever you think looks nice. I’ve used poly cotton, some from my husband’s old shirts and some from some little bits and bobs I got from an ebay shop, http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Vintage-Fabric-Company?_trksid=p4340.l2563. They offer a weekly surprise bundle of little bits of fabric, some of it old and some new, for a reasonable price. They are also able to employ a young adult with special needs through the stuff they sell on ebay so you get a nice feeling that you are helping somebody, even if it is indirectly.

To get the size, I tore a page from my A5 notebook and folded it in half. This was the basic size for the bag, so to get the right size of fabric, the fabric needs to be twice as long as the paper template. When you have cut your two pieces of fabric, you will need to cut a couple of centimetres off the lining piece. This is so that it doesn’t get caught up in the casing.

jewellery bag tutorial

The lining piece is smaller

If you want to embellish the front, do it now. For the bag in the first picture, I used a rubber stamp and some permanent ink, then attached a sequin and a bead. Maybe you could do some embroidery or applique, or just leave it as it is.

2. Put the lining on top of the outer, wrong sides together, so that the lining is in the middle of the outer.

jewellery bag tutorial

Lining fabric in the middle of outer, wrong sides together

3. Now to make the casing. I have found that it is easiest to do this first. Leaving it until last resulted in a messy tangle of fabric, thread and sewing machine, and some bad language, so we’re going to make this first so we won’t get stressed with it. Take one corner of the outer fabric and carefully fold it in about 0.5cm. The folded bit will look like a long triangle. The pointy end of the triangle needs to include some of the lining. Pin and then sew. Repeat for the other three corners.

jewellery bag tutorial

Corners folded and sewn

4. This stage is a little bit fiddly.

First of all you need to fold the outer fabric down to the top of the lining piece to make a hem.jewellery bag tutorial

Then, holding the fold, fold it down again so that the first fold is level with the pointy end of the triangle that you made in the previous stage.

jewellery bag tutorial

Folded edge is level with pointy end of triangle, see?

Pin and sew, then repeat for the other end. Voila, casing complete! And hopefully no swearing!!

 

 

 

 

 

5. Now we make it into a bag. Turn it inside out so that the right sides of the fabric are together and the casing is inside.

jewellery bag tutorial

Fabric right sides together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjust the fabric so that both bits of the casing are together with the outer on one side, folded in half with the right sides together, and the lining on the other side. We are going to sew the outer first, so make sure that the casing is inside the lining.

jewellery bag tutorial

Outer ready for sewing with casing inside lining

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sew up both the open sides of the outer as far as the casing. Don’t sew the lining or you’ll find yourself in a pickle.

6. It’s almost done! Just the lining left to do now. Push the casing into the outer so that you don’t sew it when you sew up the lining. Make sure you leave a gap of about 3 cm at the folded end of one side so that you can turn it the right out.

jewellery bag tutorial

Both sides sewn up, gap left on one side of lining

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Now you can turn the bag the right way out. Push it all through the gap that you left in the lining.

jewellery bag tutorial

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Neatly sew up the gap in the lining, pop the lining inside the outer and, Bob’s your uncle, one bag!

jewellery bag tutorial

One almost finished bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All you need to do now is thread some ribbon through the casing and fill it with your treasures. Happy sewing! 🙂

 

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Filed In: Sewing Projects / Tagged: how to, Jewellery, upcycling

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I'm Anna and I live in rural Norfolk in the UK. My mum taught me how to use a sewing machine when I was 10 and I haven't looked back! I love making all sorts of things and I hope you find inspiration here.

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