Little Stitches Week 10 - Pattern F Cap

It's Week 10 of the "Little Stitches" Sew-Along. Don't get me started on the Comfy Jumper Dress. It's still unfinished and in my UFO pile. Not because it's particularly difficult, but because other projects have taken higher priority status over it. Sorry Comfy Jumper. I swear I'll be showcasing you soon! (Is it weird that I'm apologizing to an inanimate object?)

Pattern F - Cap - Difficulty Level: 3

I met Jeremy through my husband. They've been friends for years. Jeremy is part of Marc's pack of guy friends and I've always adored him since the day I met him. That adoration only grew when he started dating Megahn. They're both, now, part of our close inner circle of friends that I call the Venice Crew. We all live in the same neighborhood. We can walk, or bike to each other's homes and I am so lucky to have such a great group of friends who I know I'll have for the rest of my life. Jeremy and Megahn got married in 2010 and they welcomed their first child, Jude, into the world this December. My plan was (and still is) to make a larger gift for them. It's in the works and will be finished soon I hope, but I couldn't go empty-handed to Meaghn's baby shower.

If you're a regular reader of my blog you know my sewing time has been limited lately. On the morning of the shower I was still gift-less so I woke up a little early to make her just a little something to tide her over until I could finish her real gift. And as they're one of the few people of the MANY (and the list keeps growing) people I know having babies that knew they were having a boy so I thought this little hat would be perfect, and quick.

I cut into this green lattice fabric that I've had stashed forever. It's simple but a favorite of mine. The only problem is, when I was cutting it was early and I wasn't concentrating properly so I also cut the portions of the other hat listed in this pattern from this fabric as well, so some day you'll see this fabric again when I get around to making the butterfly hat.

When you're laying out your pattern pieces for the brim of the cap you can try to nestle the curve of the pattern piece into the curve of the fabric where you just cut. It doesn't fit exactly but you can get somewhat close to help save some of the fabric waste.

This one came together pretty well, but if you're nervous about curves this definitely has a lot of them. My advice is to take your time on the curves. Reinforcing your seams and snipping into the curves to help ease them around is key. Don't cut corners there. (No pun intended!) When you're snipping into your seams be careful that you don't cut in too close to the seam allowance, as these can fray over time if you don't give yourself proper distance from the tip of the snip and the actual seam. But it is a very important step. This helps to reduce bulk and make your curves easier and smoother. I recommend using a pair of small, sharp scissors whenever you clip into a seam allowance.

The only real problem I ran into when making the cap was that my lining ended up just slightly (less than a 1/4") bigger around the band area than the exterior of my cap. I could have easily solved this by stitching a slightly tighter seam into the band, but unfortunately for me I was rapidly running out of time so I fudged it.

The lining isn't as pretty and tailored as it should be but I was able to slightly gather the small overlap when I was stitching the lining to the exterior, which created a slight pucker in the lining. I justified this error because it's on the lining and will never bee seen when worn and I just plain didn't have time to fix it. Instead I affixed my label over the pucker to try to hide it as much as possible. Megahn was pleased with it, so in the end, that's all that matters. I can't wait until Jude is old enough to wear it because I think he's going to look incredibly dapper. It's just so cute and it's easy enough to make in a morning.

So what are you working on? Link up your latest projects here and show everyone what you're making. You can share your projects in any state from start to finish. I'll keep the linky party open all week. Remember you can also show off your "Little Stitches" projects anytime in the Undercover Crafter Sew-Along Group on Flickr.

See you next week when I'll show you my latest finish: Pattern K: The Modern Diaper Bag.