How to Remake a Hat's Lining

If wearing a favorite is a daily habit. the hat's lining can wear out over time. Here's a step-by-step way to remake the lining and keep your hat on your head for years to come.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 to 1 yard of light weight fabric (a rayon satin, preferably)
• Thread
• Needle
• Pins
• Scissors
• Seam ripper
• Sewing pen or pencil
• Sewing machine (optional)
• Digital camera (optional)

Instructions

Removing the Old Lining

1. Remove the old lining carefully using a seam ripper. Make sure that you keep all parts of the lining as intact as possible. Damaging the old lining would make remaking the lining much more difficult.

2. Start at one end of the hat's inner rim and unstitch the area where the lining attaches to the hat. Take special care to not damage your hat in the process.

3. Seam-rip the stitched lining pieces from one another. Each lining piece should be carefully separated and saved. The old lining will be the pattern to follow for remaking your hat's lining.

4. Take pictures of the lining as you remove each piece, if necessary. You will want to remember where each original piece went in order to put the new lining pieces together. You can also mark each old piece with your sewing pen.

Making the Lining

1. Place the old lining pieces onto your prepared fabric and pin them down. Make sure that the side of the fabric that you want to be seen is laid the same way as the old lining piece.

2. Cut out each separate lining piece. Make sure that your cuts are very straight and that each new lining piece is exactly the same as the old lining pieces.

3. Trim away any unevenly cut edges of the new lining pieces and unpin them from the old lining pattern.

4. Pin the seems of each side of the new lining together with the other lining pieces, according to the original positions of the old hat lining.

5. Pin one seem at a time and then sew each seem together, alternating the pinning and sewing. Make sure that the stitches line up the same as in the original pieces, otherwise your lining could end up either too big or too small for the hat.

Attaching the Lining

1. Iron the seams of the finished lining open and flat. Also, iron the edge of the sewn lining to make a seam allowance for stitching it into the hat. Make sure that the seam for the rim of the hat is ironed under so that it would not be visible once attached.

2. Set the lining into the hat. Make sure that the lining fits appropriately in the hat and make any necessary adjustments before trying to attach it.

3. Hand-stitch the lining to the rim of the hat in the same location as the old lining had been. Make sure you slip-stitch the lining instead of top-stitching it so that the stitches do not show.

4. Finish sewing with a secure knot and run the thread through once more before cutting so as to conceal the end of the thread.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important to carefully cut out your lining pattern. Otherwise, you will be fighting to get each piece correctly sewn into the lining.