{The Girly Hospital Hat}

OK, so here's a tutorial I've been sitting on for awhile. I can't believe that I only have 10 (yes, TEN!) days left before my due date and our little Ella June is to arrive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll grace us with her presence before the 26th, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Meanwhile, I've been enjoying not working, and finishing my laundry list of things 'to do' before she arrives.

This project is very girly [sorry boys], and very easy...in fact I actually made it a lot harder than it needed to be, but I like a finished, polished look, so I spent the extra time and did it the long way. I'll share with you how I did it, then link you to a quick version tutorial.

Materials needed:

Two [2] hospital issue newborn beanies

Scissors

Ribbon

Thread

Needle

Step #1:

Cut the bottom 2-2.5 inches off of one of the hats. This bottom portion will become the 'bow' part of the hat. The remaining top portion of the hat isn't used and can be discarded.

Step #2:

Fold the cut edges [the rough unfinished edges] into the middle of the hat. This is hard to explain so hopefully the picture clarifies it better. You don't want any of the frayed edges showing on the outside so you fold them into the center leaving the finished edges on the outside...make sense? Hopefully...

Step #3:

This next step requires being a little finicky with the bow, but basically you want to pinch the fabric in the center and tuck a bit of the surrounding fabric back so that it looks like a bow. Then set it on the second hospital hat. Make sure that the second hospital hat has been folded up 2 or so inches at the bottom to make a band. You can also cut a short length of ribbon which will go around the center of the bow in a later step.

Step #4:

I took the bow and flipped it over then put a few stitches in the back to help it keep its 'bow' shape. These stitches will not be seen once the bow is flipped around, covered in the ribbon and attached to the band of the hat.

Step #5:

Take your ribbon, cut to length and wrap it around the center of your bow. Then put a few stitches in the back of it to keep it in place.

Step #6:

Position the bow on the front folded band of the second hospital hat.

Step #7:

Sew the bow to the folded hospital hat band, just a few tacking stitches should be good.

All Done!

So...this is the final product, a hospital hat fit for a girl! No more mistaking newborns for the wrong gender [which is easily done]. This project really only takes a few minutes, but if you feel the need to be super quick about it, there is a shortcut version here.