Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Pioneer Trek Week - How to Sew a Bonnet Tutorial

It's no secret I am NOT a seamstress.  But I do have a fabric stash and I didn't want to spend money on a bonnet - especially since it is going to be trashed on trek.  So I made one.  And in case you are wondering, I am not wearing this with my turquoise shirt.  haha!

And just to prove I am a nerd, here is a pic of me in it.  hehe.


First, I found this tutorial over at Buns and Baskets.  She has an entire site on dressing like a pioneer.  I would recommend heading over there if you need some advice.  Anyway, I tweaked it just a little with help from my mom.  She is awesome at sewing.

Also, if you want to see WHY I am making a bonnet, click here.  And if you want to see my tutorial on a pioneer shirt, click here.

*This tutorial is for an adult sized bonnet*

Materials:
3/4 yard fabric
9 inches of 1/4" elastic
Interfacing (enough for 1 brim piece)
2 pieces of 24"coordinating ribbon for ties

Fabric:
1.  Cut fabric into one 22" square (bonnet) and 2 strips of 5 1/2" by 21" (brim)


2. Fold the bonnet piece in half, and the in quarters, making a square.  Iron to create lines.

3.  Unfold the fabric so it is halfed, vertically.    Cut a quarter circle on top half of fabric.  Now, I am going to make this picture really big in case you don't know how to make the half circle.  Take a string and tie it to a pencil.  Hold the edge of the string at the edge of the fabric and the pencil at the other edge. Holding the string side in place, draw a line with the pencil, creating a half circle.  I wish I had learned that years ago!  See the pencil line below?


4. Cut a 1/2" deep mark 4.5" from the bottom and another small mark 1/4" deep 1 inch above that,  This is for elastic casing later on.

5.  Mark the center of your bonnet piece with just a little snip.
6.  Take on brim piece and fold it up two times to make a square.  Iron to create lines.  Unfold once.

7.  Unfold once and cut a quarter circle off the top half.  You know how to do it now, right?  Cut the second brim piece and a piece of interfacing to match.


Sewing: This part was a little confusing to me, so hopefully these pictures will help a ton!
BONNET
1.  Below the bottom slit mark on bonnet, fold the fabric in 1/4", then another 1/4".  Press and stitch.  Repeat on other side.

2.  Fold bottom edge 1/4" then another 1/4".  Press and stitch.
3.  Fold top slit down to meet bottom stitch in a "z" shape.  (See image.)  Press.
4.  Stitch bottom and top of casing, leaving sides open to insert elastic.
5.  Cut a 9" piece of elastic and feed it through with a safety pine.  Stitch ends down.
6.  Run 2 rows of stitches up 1" from notches around bonnet.  These will be for gathering.


BRIM
1.  Fuse interfacing to one piece of brim.  I used the iron on kind.
2.  Take other brim and fold straight edge 1/2 to the wrong side.  Press.
3.  Stitch the 2 brim pieces right sides together along the edge with 1/2" seam.  Cut to 1/4" and clip curves.
4.  Turn, press and top stitch.
5.  Mark the center of the brim with a pin.

FINISHING UP!
1.  Poke ribbon into notched area of bonnet (yes, over by elastic) and sew into place.  Both sides.  I had to pin it in place to sew it in there.  Then I just went back and forth a few times to reinforce it.

2.  Gather bonnet all the way around.  I would gather a bit and hold it up to brim so they were the same length.


3.  Pin straight edge of brim to bonnet, right sides together matching centers.  Stitch.


All done!!!

Now, I have to say, this was a bit of work for me.  It probably took an hour.  And it's not super authentic.  But I am happy with how it turned out.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Linked today at:  Mommy by Day, Sugar Bee, Hope Studios, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap,  Junk in their Trunk, Creations by Kara









14 comments:

  1. Whitney! (: It turned out SUPER CUTE! I love it! The trek sounds awesome! I bet your kids are jealous, soon enough though! Have fun. <3

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  2. OH my gosh. You're on a roll. Great job!

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  3. I love trek! This is a great tutorial! I would love for you to link it up to my What I Learned Wednesday Link Party going on right now! I know my readers would love it too. http://weliketolearnaswego.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-i-learned-wednesday-10.html

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  4. Oh this bonnet turned out so cute. You did an excellent job!

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  5. Just wanted to thank you for this tutorial! We had our Pioneer Day celebration and I made one of these for my 3 year old (some minor adjustments made), but it turned out fabulous and everyone loved it!
    Thanks!

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  6. Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!! Helped me so much!!

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  8. thank you!! this is super helpful and just the shape i was looking for!!!

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  9. I have done good so far but there seems to be a huge jump between step 3 and all done. I end up with the gathered part exposed. (?)

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  10. Hi! I made this bonnet and put pictures up on my blog. I also put the link to YOUR blog so my readers can make it too! Thanks. :)

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  11. I am in the process of making a bonnet. Just about the put the brim on, so almost done! Thank you for standing on the shoulders of giants and adding more photos to make this tutorial very easy to follow and understand. Although I am not going on a trek, the bonnet will be cherished.

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  12. Thank you so much for this tutorial!! Helped me so much, for the Thanskgiving celebration of my daugther.

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