Free Pattern Friday: Doll's Clothes by Fleece Fun

Welcome to my monthly 'Free Pattern Friday' feature, where I road test a free sewing pattern or tutorial: sometimes a children's one, sometimes an adult's one (or even a doll's one!). I try to publish these posts every first Friday of the month, timed to provide inspiration for those who plan to get their sew on over the weekend. I firmly believe that, if you pick your projects carefully, sewing doesn't have to be a crazy-expensive way to clothe yourself and your family. Thanks to all the amazing pattern designers who have offered up their hard work for us to enjoy for free.

At time of writing, Christmas is less than three weeks away. I do not condone panic sewing, but if you did find yourself with a couple of free hours and the energy to sew, and have some stockings to fill for someone who likes dolls, then this could be a great little project. Personally, I LOVE making doll's clothes. It can be super fiddly, but it's a fun use for fabric scraps and the results are almost always adorable. However, sadly (for me), my daughter has hardy played with her dolls all year, and it's been nearly two years since I posted on this blog about any free doll's clothes patterns. The last time I shared about a super versatile dress pattern by Ellie & Mac that included lots of styles options. Today I'm posting about a stash of free doll's patterns by Fleece Fun that I discovered at the beginning of the year through a lovely Instagram follower. Thanks to that follower, and thanks very much to Fleece Fun for their hardwork and for sharing this little treasure trove for free. 

Please note: I haven't road tested all of these little Fleece Fun patterns, so I can't vouch for every one of them. Plus, it needs to be highlighted that different dolls have different proportions. So, just like I'd advise with a human garment, only cut out one and make a (hopefully) wearable toile before going into full production mode! 

Remember: if the doll you wish to dress isn't the height the pattern is designed for, you can adjust the size of the pattern by adjusting the scale setting when printing it out. The patterns on this site are designed for 18" dolls. The doll I was dressing was 14" so I had to print these at about 77% scale. 

(image source: Fleece Fun)

Pattern type:

If you wanted to, you could create a pretty comprehensive feminine-styled wardrobe with this collection of patterns. I asked my daughter which of these patterns she'd like me to make, and she picked out the cuffed leggings, cardigan and robe (AKA dressing gown). 

(image source: Fleece Fun)

Sizing info:

As mentioned above, the patterns on this site are designed for 18" dolls. The doll I was dressing was 14" so I had to print these at about 77% scale. However, the doll is portioned with comparatively longer legs and a narrower body than the patterns are designed for. So the leggings came out a bit cropped and the cardigan came out a bit wide. Hence my suggestion to make a trial version before cutting out a load from your favourite fabric scraps. I would also advise cutting any elastic to fit the actual doll in question (if possible) rather than following the pattern's suggested lengths to the letter. 

(image source: Fleece Fun and Gracious Threads)

Fabric info:

So this is the fun bit: finding small bits of fabrics that are languishing in your stash and putting them to good use. Knits are particularly good for making doll's clothes because you don't need to worry about fraying and finishing tiny raw edges. For the cuffed leggings, I used a scrap of very stretchy, lightweight, loop-back french terry. For the cardigan, I used some zebra textured double knit. And for the robe, I used a scrap of fleece that was leftover from the backing of a floor quilt I made for my daughter whilst I was pregnant with her!! These days, I wouldn't buy fleece because it's made from synthetic fibres and will therefore stay on our planet for millennia, in some form or other. But finding uses for what already exists, especially uses that won't have to go through the wash and release microplastics into the waterways, is important and satisfying.

Findings:

Each of these patterns seemed to be well drafted and easily accessible to download in exchange for a sign-up to their newsletter (you can, of course, unsubscribe at anytime). The construction steps are all in the form of a blog post. The cardigan has illustrations to show key steps, the other two have photos to guide you. I have to warn you that it's one of those websites that is dripping in distracting and annoying ads. I understand that every one has bills to pay, but I don't have to like this way of doing it!

The garments came out very cute, despite the proportion issues. I could tweak the patterns and make more, better fitting versions. But as I say, my daughter isn't so into her dolls any more (sniff) so that seems like a waste of sewing time, as much as I enjoy making these. 

Customisation ideas:

Oh my goodness, you could go to TOWN using these patterns as the basis for many more versions. 

Would I make these again?

Are you trying to make me cry?!

Viscose Scraps Patchwork Trousers

Hello! First up, apologies for these terrible, dark photos. We tried to take some pics just before we went on holiday but clearly the light levels were too gloomy. So even after some editing you still can't see what's going on too well. Anyway! 

I tend to find my projects largely fall into one of two camps: 

1. A garment or accessory I really want to wear or use
2. An idea or thought experiment or that I want to see come to fruition 

This project was definitely from the second camp. In my experience, when it comes to working with scraps, slinky woven fabrics such as viscose and Tencel are the hardest to find uses for. I've tried piecing them together to make a garment from previously, but it didn't hold up very well because of my choice of seam finishing, plus I wasn't in love with the outcome stylistically. So I wanted to see if I would have more success by using a similar piecing technique to the one I adopted for my patchwork quilted denim jacket project. 

Piecing:

I started by getting all my slinky woven scraps out and selecting some that formed a nice colour palette. As you can tell, I'm really into autumnal shades such as mustard, rust, teal and forest green. It's fun seeing my previous garment projects represented in this selection! There's leftovers here from a dress that I still wear a fair bit, a Vali top that I love, a rust coloured tank that didn't work for me that I gave to a friend, my slinky Luna pants, plus a couple of bits from the scraps bin at work. 

The next step was to dissect larger scraps and trim everything up into rectangles. I find my rotary cutter, cutting mat and set square make this part of the process pretty quick. Then with the rectangles laid out, I started to find a pair that each have an edge about the same length. I pined, stitched and overlocked them together, then pressed the seam allowances to one side (I do this in batches to save time and energy). 

I would then add another shape to that joined pair, or another pair of shapes, with an edge a similar length and so on. The shapes then started to come together to make larger 'islands' of fabric. You'll often get to a point where you need to cut some 'custom' shapes to make the design work, so I kept some of the original scraps back for that. The main piece of advice is to not overthink the piecing process. It's super easy to spend too long questioning the position of each rectangle in relation to the rest and drive yourself insane!

Pattern:

It took quite a long time to eventually land on what I was actually going to make from these pieced together scraps. At first I thought a top, then I realised that I'm in far shorter supply of bottoms and I thought a wide-legged pair of culottes might look good. Then I realised I had enough scraps to make full-length, palazzo-style trousers, so I went with that plan. The pattern I created for this project is a hybrid of two other patterns. I used the top part of the trouser section from the Peppermint magazine/Ready to Sew Valley jumpsuit (then lengthened the rise in both the front and back). Plus I used the leg width and shape of the Wide-leg jumpsuit pattern by The Assembly Line, but eliminated the side seam as per the Valley jumpsuit. Having no side seam was going to result in less waste and fewer awkward shapes of pieced fabric at the side seams. 

Construction:

The 'fabric' I was creating by piecing scraps together slowly continued to grow until I could see that it had become big enough to fit the pattern piece on top. Obviously, I needed two of these large shapes of fabric. Then I cut out a pair of the pattern piece and constructed then garment as if I had cut it out of a flat piece of virgin fabric. The waist is elasticated, the channel constructed by simply turning down the top edge twice and edge stitching. 

Thoughts:

I LOVE that I managed to make an entire garment from leftovers from other projects, the scraps that would so often just go into the bin. I'm not sure if I'm super into the finished look, but I'm certainly into how they feel! Tencel and viscose fabrics usually have a wonderful drape to them anyhow, but all the additional seaming on this project has given the fabric some extra weight and made them somehow feel extra luxe. I do notice the seams on the reverse side a little against my skin, but I wouldn't describe it as unpleasant or annoying. 

I really hope that more sewers/sewists develop the habit of saving their scraps and leftovers where possible to use for other things. It's a good way to extract more value from the natural resources and the financial costs that went into the fabric in the first place, and it can keep textiles out of landfill for a bit longer. 

Scrappy Knit Cardigan

This is a recently completed project that is the result of an idea that I just couldn't shake. Inspired by the success of Pat's scrap busting Apollon sweatshirt (which in turn was inspired by the success of these scrap busting jersey tops) the thought popped into my brain that I could apply the same idea to actual knit fabric.     I am very interested in clever ways to reuse old garments, and am always looking to bulk out my chilly-weather clothing selection, which is pretty limited. So I cleared the decks of other projects and decided to have a play. 

I have a big bag of old knitwear garments and scraps: items that are moth eaten, felted, misshapen or badly pilled, plus scraps of knit fabric that can be bought by the metre. Some of the knit garments I've had in my stash for over a decade, that I've harvested bits from for other projects, mainly mittens over the years. I was keen to reduce the volume of my knit stash and claw back some space in my airing cupboard. 

I started out my selecting pieces that made a fairly pleasing colour palette. The chartreuse colour is my favourite. I previously used some of that moth-eaten jumper to make myself some mittens. I made sure to use include every last scrap of that garment in this project. There's quite a lot of pink in this project, which is NOT a colour I ever usually wear, but with the other bold colours, I think it looks ok and the over all effect is graphic and fun. 

As for the piecing, part of my goal was to try to be as economic with each piece as possible and be left with very few unusable scraps. I cut along the seam lines of some of the knit garments to access as much of the fabric as possible. I let the resultant shapes guide the forms and I jigsawed them together over the course of a few evenings until I had sections large enough to fit my pattern pieces on. 

The pattern I used at the base of this projects was the Jamie cardigan by Ready to Sew, which I adapted slightly to my preferences. I used some black Ponte Roma for the neck band, and black ribbing for the cuffs and waistband. I like how the solid black of these pieces creates a kind of frame for the colours and patterns within. 

As you may have noticed, this cardigan features some basket weave type knit that I also used to make the polo neck top I'm wearing here. I'm enjoying the 'alternative twin set' look! It's also nice to have a bold, fun garment to wear when the weather is freezing. Any addition of colour in the winter is welcome. 

Scrap Busting Apollon Sweatshirt

I can't remember precisely where the idea for this project came from, but it has served to solve two issues. The first was Mr SoZo running low on clothes, and the second was my own excess of sweatshirt scraps. In many ways, it's an extension of the scrap busting jersey T-shirts I made for him and our daughter last year. This project follows the same principles and largely the same technique. 

I was becoming aware that my collection of sweatshirt scraps was taking up a sizeable chunk of space in my fabric stash. I started out by getting all my sweatshirt scraps and remnants out and getting Mr SoZo to pick out any that particularly appealed to him. We then messed around with combinations until we had developed a pleasing colour palette. Some of the scraps came from sweatshirts I'd made for him previously, so were already within his existing wardrobe colour scheme. However, having made him the very wild scrap T-shirt that he is happy to wear, I knew I could push the combination further than many people might be comfortable with!

Here's some things I've learned about scrappy garment projects:

• Make sure you're using a TNT pattern. You need to know that the fit will be spot on: now is not the time to try something new that may require tweaks. The pattern I used for this is the Apollon sweatshirt for men by I Am Patterns that I have used at least six times for him previously.
• Limit your colour palette, unless you're really doubling down on the scrappy look.
• Keeping the scraps large results in a bold look, reduces the amount potentially-annoying seams in the inside, and makes the process of piecing MUCH quicker.
• For this project I kept an eye on the direction of the grain line of each piece, and tried to keep them vaguely in line with each other. However, with sweatshirt fabric you can probably get away with ignoring grain lines altogether.
• Keep joining scraps until you have shapes large enough to fit your pattern pieces on. Keep your pattern pieces to hand so you can keep checking. 
• Be aware that the additional seams create additional bulky bits inside. It doesn't bother Mr SoZo at all, but when I made a pieced sweatshirt fabric cardigan for my daughter, she refused to wear it because she found the seam allowances on the inside uncomfortable. If making tighter fitting garments, or garments for kids or sensitive folk, top stitch down the seam allowances as you go to reduce the bulk. 
• When you have made sections large enough to fit your pattern pieces on, try flipping them 180 degrees to see which way looks best. I tried this and found the upside down version of what I'd been creating looked way cooler. 
• If your combination of scraps is pretty bold, using one colour for any neckbands, cuffs and waistbands can create a nice 'frame' and make the whole garment look more intentional. 

If you're interested in creating something along similar lines, I hope these pointers helped. And above all, have fun!!!!! Pieced fabric garment projects are more time consuming than 'regular' sewing projects that use a length of virgin fabric, but can be so much more creatively fulfilling. 

Patchwork Denim Coat

This coat. Well, lemme tell you two things about it. 1) it took a bloody age to make, and I loved almost every minute of making it. 2) I don't think I'm going to keep it. 

Ever since the success of my scrap-busting patchwork viscose Scout tee, I had in mind doing something similar with denim. I had masses of scraps and small pieces of denim left over from other projects. Denim scraps just aren't as useful as lighter weight fabric scraps for working into other garments or turning into useful gift-y things like schrunchies. I was inspired by a couple of upcycled denim projects that I'd seen on Instagram, including a haori-style jacket that I can't find now. So I decided to use my beloved La Trop Facile pattern by Delphine et Morissette as the base, but lengthen both the body and the sleeves.  

Next was the fun bit. I got all my denim pieces together, and spent a number of the evenings over a couple of weeks hacking them, matching them and stitching them together. I got to select the pieces I liked the best to feature more prominently, and tried to combine them so the overall effect was varied. I decided to include some of the lovely selvedges to break up the blue a bit, and to (hopefully) create an interesting, graphic effect. 

I started on a few sections, joined some of them together and expanded where necessary until I had panels large enough to fit my pattern pieces on. There was a massive back panel, two front panels, two sizeable sleeve-rectangles and a collar. I stitched the outer together, save for the collar, then made a lining. 

Because I was working very much from the angle of #usewhatyouhave, I used some turquoise silk lining from my stash. In hindsight, I don't think it was the best choice as it's very fine, and probably more suited for use in a dress. Anyways, I made the lining then spent a lot of time head-scratching, trying to work out how to insert it. Have done so, I then attached the collar, hand-stitching the inside seam. 

I soooo wish I was the type of person who would wear this. I love the idea and ethics behind 'making fabric' from fabric scraps, and I wish I could fully embody that by wearing this coat out and about. But I've come to accept that it just really isn't my style. It's just too jarring with the rest of my wardrobe.

Therefore I'm going to ask around my IRL friends to see if any of them would like it. I do not regret making it at all, it was such a fun project to work on. I loved exploring the concept of 'fabric from fabric scraps' further and I'm sure I'll do more in the future. 

Now, a tiny bit of house-keeping. I'm afraid I've had to turn off the comments on this blog, at least for a while. The amount of spam I've been getting is ridiculous, I even had two people actually message me about it via Instagram last week. I've exhausted the options within Blogger to curtail it, so I'm not sure what to do. I'm so sad to have had to take this step though, because I absolutely love reading the genuine comments and having a dialogue with my readers, but those comments usually get completely lost within the spam. Thanks so much if you are someone who has commented on previous posts, please know that I really appreciated them. If you would ever like to get in contact with me, my email address is available on my About Me page, and my IG handle is @sozoblog. 

Patchwork Scrap-buster Scout Tee

Right, I hope you're sitting comfortably because I've got a lot to say about this project. First up, I feel I need to get this out of the way: I'm not sure that I like this top, or if I'll get much wear from it. But, that atypically doesn't bother me about this project. I'm trying to be as sustainable in my sewing as possible, so usually making a well-made, well-fitting garment that will have a long life and sees lots of use is the ultimate goal. However, this top is the product of two different trains of thought, and going on those little 'journeys' were more important and useful to me than if I'll wear this particular garment very much. 

On to these two trains of thought. The first one was to scratch an itch that I've had to try piecing together scraps and leftovers of fabric and use them to make a wearable garment, without (fingers crossed) it looking like a quilt. I've been collecting inspiration on this Pinterest board, and paying particular attention to Lauren from Elbe Textile's amazing pieced-together creations on her IG account (@elbe_textiles). When I found that Lauren had written an excellent blog post about how she approaches patchwork clothing projects, I got the push I needed to finally give it a go. 

I feel really strongly that everyone who is lucky enough to be living comfortably in a developed nation should try to reduce the amount of textile waste we are each responsible for. And that includes us sewers/sewists who make some, or all, of our own clothes. According to Patrick Grant on the GBSB, up to a third of the fabric we buy for each sewing project gets wasted. This is, of course, a higher percentage per garment than a mass produced item, which, in terms of textile waste, kind of takes the sheen off my smugness about shunning fast fashion! Like a lot of sewers who are interested in slow-sewing, my goal is to buy fewer pieces of fabric, but of a higher quality. And finding ways to utilise more than two-thirds of those lengths of fabric is of growing importance. 

But I don't want to be wasting my sewing time, or those pieces of leftover fabric, making random accessories or homeware items: sewing for the sake of it just to feel that I used up as much of my fabric as I could. My main passion is garment sewing, and I've used scraps and leftovers a lot for making kids' clothes previously. However, not all my scraps lend themselves to children's wear, nor do my kids need lots of scrap-busting new clothes all the time. So the time has come for me to explore combining scraps and leftovers within adult garment projects. 

The second train of thought that this project helped me work through, was a sense of low-level frustration caused by the feeling that that my sewing is not actually very creative. Most of my sewing projects follow this formula: match a piece of fabric with a sewing pattern that someone else has designed, then make a couple of tweaks to improve the fit, and rely on the instructions, plus my sewing-muscle memory, to achieve a nice finish. Then I parade the finished garment about IRL, and share it on my blog and Instagram feed, and usually enjoy receiving a few nice comments about it (because, like most people, I'm an approval junky). Yet I've been feeling that my involvement in the success of the garment is somewhat limited, and seeing as sewing is my main form of expression, that's pretty depressing. So this project was also about being more deeply involved in the look of my finished garment; by semi-creating the fabric that I cut the pattern pieces from, I was ensuring that I got a garment that was entirely unique.  

So for those who may be interested, here's how I approached this project on a practical level. First, I took out all my scraps and leftovers, and put them in groups according to fabric type. The result of that produced two decent piles: one of leftover viscose fabrics, and another of cotton lawn type leftovers. I was more keen to use the viscose pieces, as generally they are less useful for pocket bags, facings, hankies and such. I found that four  of the pieces combined made a nice teal/rust, shades-of-autumn-y colour story. Next, I took Lauren's advise and cut them into random squares and rectangles using a set square and rotary cutter, being as mindful as possible of the grainlines. 

I picked the Scout tee pattern by Grainline Studio to use because, having made several before, I know that the fit is lovely and pairs well with other pieces in my wardrobe (I wear this one all the time in the summer). Plus, it'd provide a good, plain canvas for some (potentially-bonkers) patchwork fabric. I played around with positioning the rectangles together to make a big enough shapes to fit the front and back pattern pieces on. It look a long time, mainly because I was working with a very limited amount of fabric, and it involved quite a bit of recutting and rejigging. I stitched the shapes together using a 1cm seam allowance. but decided to use my pinking sheers rather than overlocker to finish the raw edges to A) save time, and B) reduce the bulk created by the seams. Squeezing the sleeve shapes out of the last of the fabric scraps was a real challenge. 

I wish I'd taken a photograph, but at the end of this project, I was virtually left with dust! That was intensely pleasing, seeing as one of the motivators for this project was to use up dormant, seemingly-unusable pieces of fabric. In the same vein, I kind of view this garment as a 'free project', because I associate the cost of these fabrics with the original garment projects. In a sense, I've created value from a pile of weird-shaped scraps that otherwise no longer held value. This project was also the epitome of slow-sewing, because a 'regular' Scout tee project from virgin fabric would usually take me an evening to make, whereas this took the best part of a week's worth of pockets of sewing time. 

As I say, I don't know if I'll wear this top very much, although I definitely plan to give a good run when the weather warms up in the hope that I fall in love with it. One of the reasons that I do want to wear it a lot, is that I hope it sparks thoughts, and even conversations, about waste and repurposing within sewing, and perhaps more broadly. I want it, in some small way, to contribute to a sea-change in how we view and behave towards the materials we consume. At the very least, I hope that a few of the people who come to my sewing classes, and anyone else who sews and happens to see me IRL, get inspired to hold on to their leftovers (if they have the space), and get creative with how they use them in the future. 

Have you tried to make patchwork clothing? Have you seen anyone IRL or on the internet who has done so particularly successfully, in your opinion? Please tell all! 

Alex Jogger Pants

Yep. More rust coloured clothing. Although I've rebranded these as 'orange' because, as Frankie reminds me daily, orange is one of his two favourite colours. The other is red, FYI. Anyways, although the colour of this new creation may not surprise you, what may come as a shock is that I shelled out actual money for a kid's sewing pattern!

Pattern:

It goes to show that offering up sewing patterns for free really is a good way to get potential customers to appreciate your products, and eventually part with money for something. Misusu Patterns have a generous array of free downloadable sewing patterns. You can read my reviews of the Rowan tee pattern here and Olli shorts/pants pattern here. 

I'd liked the look of the Alex jogger pants pattern for a while, and when the pattern recently got an update and re-release (plus a discounted early bird price), I bought it. I'm a fan of the unique design of the kangaroo pockets (there are two versions of the kangaroo pocket plus a more regular hip pockets style), and the gusset to provide ease of movement. 

(image source: Misusu Patterns)

For this, my first go with this pattern, I made the version with the kangaroo pocket that extends up into the waistband, and omitted the optional waist tie to make them quicker to get on and off. If memory serves, I made the size 98 which is a bit bigger than he currently wears to give them a long lifespan, which is why they are gathering around his ankles a bit. 

I've made many a pair of leggings and joggers in my six years of parenthood so far, and I think this is the first pair I've made with a gusset. I stuck closely to the instructions and used my regular machine to insert it accurately as the instructions had you do it. Next time, however, I think I'll fudge it a little and insert it with my overlocker so there's less switching back and forth between machines, although this strategy may be a little less accurate.  

The instructions for this pattern are fantastic. The step-by-step diagrams are incredibly clear and easy to follow. Plus there's all manner of additional info on blending sizes, sewing with knits and such. 

Fabric:

I've got a sizeable stack of knit fabric leftover from previous projects that I've earmarked for the kids when they could do with something new. This speckle sweatshirt fabric in rust was originally from Fabric Godmother (they still it have it in other colourways) and was leftover from Pat's much-used Apollon sweatshirt. The contrasting forest green pieces were cut from more leftovers, this time some Ponte Roma given to me by my lovely colleague Linda. The combo came from playing about with my stash, it's not a colour combo I would have come up with in my head, but I'm very much enjoying it.

Thoughts:

I'm very pleased to have this pattern in my arsenal, not least because it goes up to approx. age 14. It's ripe for all manner of scrap busting and colour blocking, and I'm excited to play around with further possibilities in the future. However, it is a bit more complicated, and therefore time consuming, than the jogger patterns I usually use. So truth be told, I'll probably use the Alex pattern for my kids only and turn to more simple styles when making gifts. I'm already hatching plans for Frankie's next version...

Summer Hat-aganza!

Where we live, it felt like summer 2018 consisted of three months of back-to-back, warm, sunny days. No doubt due to climate change, the consistency of the sunshine and warmth was unlike any summer that I can remember. If this alarming trend is here to stay, then I'm going to have to up my skin-protection game. I'm very good at putting sun hats and sunscreen on my fair-skinned kids, but I'm pretty rubbish about protecting myself, and last summer I frequently came home from a park or beach session with a sunburnt scalp and hairline. So at the beginning of this summer, I set out to make sun hats for one and all. 

Frankie's bucket hat:

Frankie still fit in Dolores's old sun hats but most of them are looking a bit ropey, so I decided to make him a fresh one. I reached for my TNT bucket hat pattern, the excellent and FREE Oliver + S Reversible bucket hat pattern (that I have previous used here, here, here and here). I made him the size Medium with no changes. I was determined to use fabric from my stash of woven scraps and small pieces for all the hats I planned to make. I had a sizeable piece of this tomato-red and white canvas-y stuff that I bought for one of the samples of my Anya shoulder bag pattern, and after an extended session of pattern piece Tetris, I was able to squeeze both Frankie and Dolores's outer hat pieces from this one small piece of stash. I used another scrap for the lining, this time some solid teal/turquoise/green quilting cotton that had been leftover from a commissioned sewing project from a few years ago. 

Dolores's Serpentine hats:

Although Dolores still fit into the crown of her bucket hats, the brim was no longer actually protecting her face from the sun. I could have extended the bucket hat's brim piece of course, but having tried that approach here, I wasn't sure that the proportions would look very good. I'd already had my eye on the Elbe Textiles Serpentine hat pattern for myself, but I had a minor revelation and realised that it might work well for Dolores also. Her face would be suitably protected from the sun, plus I felt that she would enjoy the drama of a wide-brimmed hat! 

Unsurprisingly, her 5yo head was too small for this adult's pattern. I did some measuring and calculated that printing out the pattern at 95% scale and cutting the smallest size should fit, which it did very well. The first version (red with white print) fit her well around the crown, but the brim, which I had interfaced with two layers of medium-weight fusible interfacing, was too wide and floppy. The lining was a scrap of awesome quilting cotton that I scored long ago at a fabric swap. It had a repro print of 1950s children playing, and although it had been initially okay-d, she later claimed to dislike it. She tended to wear this hat with the brim folded back, 1990s Blossom Russo style, and actually got a fair bit of use from it until she left it at school on the last day of the school summer term (sigh).

With version 1 locked up in a classroom for the duration of the summer holidays, I quickly had to make another before we left on our trip to France, a few days later. I was running out of suitable scraps of fabric that she approved of, but thankfully she gave the thumbs up to this leopard print fabric that was left over from this coat that I made several years before she was born. I used some solid cream cotton twill for the lining, reduced the depth of the brim a bit, and interfaced with fairly thick, sew-in interfacing instead of the fusible, which keeps the shape far better. 

Mum's Serpentine hat:

Full disclosure before you marvel at all this selfless sewing: the Serpentine hat that became my mum's was actually intended for me. My head measurement corresponded with the size Small, so that's what I made, despite being skeptical as my head has never been described as small! Using scraps from this pinafore and this dress, and using the thick-ish sew-in interfacing, annoyingly for me, it came out too small. But my loss became my mum's gain when she declared that she could make some use from it. Hurrah!

My Serpentine hat:

My second version was made from red canvas fabric that I'm guessing is a cotton/something-synthetic blend that I have no recollection of entering my stash. I used the same fabric for the outer and lining because by this point I just wanted to get the damn thing finished. The fit is much better, but I dislike the look of the fabric, especially now it's spent time crumpled up in my bag. 

Thoughts:

This summer hasn't proved as sunny as last year's, and none of these hats became as indispensible as I thought that they would be. They did get some moderate use, plus who knows what future summers hold, so I don't feel that making them was a waste of time or fabric. I'm a big fan of the Serpentine hat pattern though, and I'm pleased that I bought it. Before next summer, I'd like to make myself another, probably in denim, perhaps with gold jeans-style topstitching. Then we should all be set for hot weather head wear, unless Frankie has a growth spurt and I need to bust out the bucket hat patten in a Large.