How to Make Long-Tailed Baby Hat

Keep her head warm and cozy with an adorable, long-tailed hat.

A long-tailed baby hat can be knitted, crocheted or even pieced together from some stretchy fabric. The fabric long-tailed hats are the simplest to make, requiring very little previous experience and just a rudimentary knowledge of basic sewing stitches. The hat can be made with a sewing machine for a quick and easy project, or sewn together by hand to make a baby hat with a personal touch. Add a monogram along the bottom brim of the hat for a customized gift for a new mom.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric baby hat (for template)
• Seam ripper
• Iron
• 1/4 yard cotton knit fabric
• Tailor’s chalk
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine or sewing needle
• Thread

Instructions

1. Turn the regular, fabric baby hat inside out. This hat will be used as a template to make the pieces for the long-tailed hat. Use a seam ripper to remove the stitches holding the two pieces of the hat together. Iron the edges of one of the pieces flat so you have an accurate template.

2. Lay the cotton knit fabric on your work surface. The fabric is similar to T-shirt fabric and has a good amount of stretch. Lay the ironed template piece on top of the cotton knit and find the top and center of the template. Measure 1 1/2 inches to the left and to the right of the center and make small marks with tailor’s chalk.

3. Trace around the outer edges of the template with tailor’s chalk. Do not trace along the center of the hat, in between the two marks. This section will be used to create the tail.

4. Draw a tail extending from the marks at on either side of the top and denter. The hat will resemble a funnel when the tail is drawn. Make the tail as long as you like, but keep the tip of the tail at least 1/2-inch wide. Cut out the funnel-like shape from the cotton knit fabric.

5. Lay the funnel shape on another piece of cotton knit fabric and trace around the outer edges. Cut out the shape to make the second piece for the hat.

6. Lay the two funnel-like shapes together with good sides inward and pin around the outer edges to keep the pieces from shifting. Sew a running stitch along the left and right sides of the hat, from the bottom, flat edge to the tip of the tail. Use a seam allowance of about 1/4-inch.

7. Flip the hat right side out. To make the tail turn right side out, you might need to push it through with a pencil or knitting needle.

8. Fold under the bottom, flat edge of the hat about 1/4-inch and iron around the folded edge. Fold over another 1/4-inch and sew a running stitch. Later, if the brim of the hat is folded down, a smooth edge is revealed because of these folds.

9. Flip the bottom edge of the hat upward about 1 inch. Make a few small stitches through the side seams of the hat and into the brim. Repeat to make one more 1-inch fold and complete the hat.

Tips & Warnings

• You can leave the long tail as it is, or tie it in a knot above the top of the hat. Instead of a knot, you can also tie a ribbon around the hat, then sew a few stitches to keep it from loosening.

• When making the hat for a young infant, do not make the tail long enough for the baby to grab onto and get into her mouth. This poses a serious choking hazard.

References

• Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby: 24 Easy Projects for Newborns to Toddlers: Lotta Jansdotter