How to Make a Round Sailor Hat

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Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape

  • Half-yard hat fabric

  • Half-yard lining fabric

  • Compass

  • Ruler

  • Fabric marker (one or two different colors)

  • Straight pins

  • Sewing machine

  • Thread

  • Iron and ironing board

A round sailor hat is cool and comfortable.

A round sailor hat is comfortable to wear and easy to make. Because the hat is not adjustable to fit different sizes, it is important to measure your head accurately and sew exact quarter-inch seams. You can make a traditional white sailor hat or choose whimsical fabric prints to express your own personal style. You can also decorate the hat brim with ribbons or trims.

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Step 1

Measure around your head where you want the hat to rest. Add 2 inches.

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Step 2

Draw a circle on the back side of your fabric according to the measurement you got in Step 1. Use the compass to make sure your circle is perfectly round.

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Step 3

Draw the same size circle on the back side of the lining fabric.

Step 4

Divide both circles into quarters. Use the ruler to mark straight lines on the back of the hat fabric and the lining fabric. These will be your cutting lines.

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Step 5

Mark your sewing lines a quarter-inch on either side of the cutting lines. Either use a different color of fabric marker to mark the sewing lines or draw broken lines to distinguish the difference between the cutting lines and the sewing lines. Use the ruler for accuracy.

Step 6

Draw a rectangle on the back side of the hat fabric that is a half-inch longer than your basic head measurement and 4 inches to 5 inches wide depending on how deep you want the brim to be.

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Step 7

Cut out the triangle and the two circles.

Step 8

Cut the two circles into quarters along your cut lines. Note that you can round off the tips of the quartered pieces if you want to or keep them straight. Either will result in a rounded hat top.

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Step 9

Pin two hat triangles together, right sides together, making sure the sewing lines are perfectly aligned. Machine stitch.

Step 10

Repeat the above step with all four parts of the hat fabric. Press the seams open.

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Step 11

Repeat Step 9 and Step 10 with the lining pieces as well.

Step 12

Trim the excess fabric from the tops of both the hat and the lining where the four quartered pieces meet.

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Step 13

Sew the two ends of the brim together. Make a quarter-inch seam. Press the seam open.

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Step 14

Pin the brim to the hat, right sides together. Machine stitch. Press the seam toward the hat.

Step 15

Turn under the raw edge of the hat brim by a quarter-inch and press.

Step 16

Place the lining inside the hat, wrong sides together. Match all seams and pin in place.

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Step 17

Fold the hat brim in half, wrong sides together. Align the pressed edge with the hat/brim seam, sandwiching the hat lining in between. Pin in place.

Step 18

Machine stitch. Remove pins.

Step 19

Make several rows of top stitching around the brim approximately a quarter-inch apart.

Step 20

Trim all loose threads.

Step 21

Turn the hat brim up along the seam and press.

Tip

To curve the tops of the hat and lining quarter sections to give a rounder shape to the top of the hat, begin a quarter of the way down from the tips and make slightly curved lines toward the points of each piece. Do only one piece first, then use that as a pattern for the others so that they are all exactly the same.

When pinning the quartered hat and lining pieces together, stick the pin into one side at the sewing line and then make sure the insertion point on the second piece of fabric is also at the sewing line.

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