How to Make Hats from Recycled Sweaters
comments (15) December 2nd, 2008Everyone has a favorite old wool sweater that's been shrunken and felted in the washer. But you may not realize what a bounty of craft material a shrunken sweater is! I've used them to make rugs, mittens, dog sweaters...and the most versatile gift item of all: hats. I'm going to show you how to make recycled sweater hats for the entire family, and everyone else on your list, too!
Felted knits are great to work with because the edges won't unravel, they're stretchy (as opposed to felt), and you're saving them from the landfill. You can get a second life out of stained or moth-eaten sweaters, too; just shrink them and then cut around the holes or stains when you cut out your pattern.
You'll need one felted sweater (you may get two or more hats out of one sweater, depending on the size of the sweater and the hats you're making). If you don't have any handy, a thrift store usually has loads of shrunken knits or ones you can felt yourself. Just throw them in the washer and dryer. Most sweaters will felt, as long as they are made from an animal fiber, like wool, mohair, cashmere, alpaca, etc. Avoid cottons and synthetics.
1. Measure the head of the intended recipient. You'll need circumference (around the fullest part of the head, just above the ears) and height (from the top center of the head down to the bottom of the ears, or however long you want the hat to be).
2. Make your pattern. This hat is made from five panels sewn together. To determine the width of your panels, divide the head circumference by 5, then add 1 inch for seam allowance (1/2 inch each side). My head measures 22 inches around, so dividing it by 5 gave me 4.4, which I rounded up to 4-1/2. Adding 1 inch gives me 5-1/2 inches. Add 1 inch to your length measurement. Mine was 8-1/2 inches, so I have 9-1/2 inches for my total length. Cut a rectangle out of cardstock or paper that measures the length by the width (mine was 9-1/2 inches by 5-1/2 inches). Fold the pattern lengthwise in half, and holding it with the fold on the left, trim the upper half of the right-side edge so that it curves toward the fold, ending in a point at the fold. (See the photo of my panels to get an idea of the shape.) Unfold the piece and you should have something like a beehive shape. Use this pattern to cut out five pieces from your sweater. If you want a binding on the bottom edge of the hat, you'll need another rectangular piece that measures (head circumference + 1 inch) by 2 inches.
| The shape of your pattern should look like these. |
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Comments (15)
Posted: 4:17 pm on December 18th
Posted: 11:45 am on October 25th
Posted: 10:42 am on September 21st
Posted: 6:10 pm on March 20th
Posted: 2:41 pm on January 3rd
Posted: 1:07 pm on December 21st
Posted: 10:01 am on December 9th
Posted: 10:54 am on December 8th
Posted: 3:43 pm on December 6th
Thanks,
Amy
www.CustomKids.etsy.com
Posted: 9:11 am on December 6th
Posted: 9:05 am on December 6th
Posted: 5:43 am on December 6th
and for the shrinking, ususally only once is enough, but if you want it more felted, doing it two or three times may increase the felting (or it may not). every sweater is different, and sometimes the fibers are coated to PREVENT shrinking, so it won't work on every sweater.
thanks for your questions ;n)
Posted: 9:05 pm on December 5th
When you say "tiny zig-zag" do you mean tiny stitch length, or tiny zig-zag width, or both?
To felt the wool sweater, is it necessary to wash and dry more than once?
Posted: 1:35 pm on December 5th
Posted: 6:09 pm on December 3rd