In search of the perfect sunhat
[Unrelated but necessary: I just have to say a big thank you to everyone for all of your kind comments and for supporting my shop by purchasing the Buttercup Bag Pattern -- I have been really overwhelmed by the reaction - WOW!!! Thank you so much!]
I've been working on tweaking the pattern for the sunhat Elliot wore last summer. He's too big for the old one and as we've started playing outside more the need for a new one has become pretty urgent, as this item of clothing represents the one piece of his wardrobe he will most likely wear every single day this summer.
The pattern is as usual my own design, based (I'm sure) on some kid's at the playground that I looked at and thought "I can do that!" It turned out to be harder than I thought; the 4 top pieces are pretty tricky to curve correctly, and the brim turned out super-floppy the first time, so I streamlined it a little more this time around.
The fabric is Funky Monkey on the outside and brown twill on the inside. I interfaced all of the brim pieces to give it shape, and the straps snap together at the bottom.
The second version came out looking more like a safari hat than the bucket hat look I was going for, but you take what you get with this sort of project (read: too lazy to go back and change it). I'll probably raise the brim a bit more for version two if I ever get around to it so it looks less like a helmet on top.
Let's review my criteria for perfect sunhat:
- no brand name on outside
- machine washable without looking all wrinkly
- chin strap (I have yet to meet the child who will keep a hat without a strap on for more than 5 minutes)
- not boring (this eliminates about 95% of all store-bought sunhats for boys)
More astute observers will recognize this as a monkey "backpack" that has a leash attached. We got ours at Target and I think the brand is Eddie Bauer. All I can say is, I don't use it much (because lucky lucky me Elliot's not a Bolter) but when I do, I get more comments from Joe Public than on anything else, let me tell you.
Here's my baby last summer in the pool with the first version I made; you can see the brim is quite different. It's a little sad for me to look at these pictures...my little baby is such a little boy now!
