Bucket Hat

My son has been wanting me to sew something for him and I thought a hat would be perfect. And since a little gray is having a sew-along each month with items from the Oliver + S book, I thought it was destiny that August was the reversible bucket hat (which can actually be downloaded for free here!). I had some other fabric picked out for the hat, but then thought the print was too large. So I changed plans and found this cute fabric from the Children at Play line. I got the matching polka dots to go on the other side.

I love the top stitching around the brim.

I absolutely love the bikes.

And I absolutely love the polka dots.

But not for my son. When I picked out these two fabrics they matched perfectly and his favorite color is red. So I was going to be the best mom in the world and make a hat that was sooo cool. Well, the hat is definitely cute, but has a feminine look on one side. I think with the wide brim and the polka dots, this side of the hat looks like it was made for a girl. So the idea is to have my son wear it on the bike side and have my daughter wear the polka dot side when she gets bigger. (Of course she could wear the bike side too. Isn't it funny how girls can get away with wearing boy clothes, but boys can't wear girls?)

Overall it was a success. He loves the hat (both sides) and doesn't have a clue the red polka dots look girly. As it should be, right?

And just a quick note about the construction. Those curved seams were not so bad. I put some painters tape on my machine to act as my sewing guide, used lots of pins, and sewed slowly so I could turn the fabric easily. I did sew the hat as the instructions state, (Hey, I'm the girl who thinks since the pattern is wrote this way there must be a reason.) but will definitely try the next one like Jessica did. All of the top stitching on the brim was very tedious, but definitely worth it. It makes the hat look top notch and will hold the two fabrics together nicely.

After finishing the hat, I didn't see a need to hand stitch and since mine could use some practice, why not keep it all on the machine? It's a great pattern and since it's free right now, what do you have to loose? (Nothing, except maybe all those UV rays? chuckle, chuckle...)