Bucket Hat

This is the first time I've let Louisa pick her own fabric. Luckily her tastes aren't as expensive as mine (yet) and she chose this denim at Jo-Ann for her bucket hat from oliver + s's Little Things to Sew. (I own this adorable book but Liesl has made this particular pattern from it available as a PDF here.)

Yes, it has little silver butterflies on it reminiscent of puffy paint (in a good way?).

I added a neck strap that I had intended to cut and turn into ties, or to find a little draw-string-style end piece for.

Fact is, I never got that far because the hat doesn't quite fit right.

I made the biggest size (large, meant for 6 - 8 years ...she is 3) based on her head measurement and it is still snug (we are a big-headed breed). Also, I think the brim is a little too narrow. It doesn't quite keep enough sun off little noses.

I lined it with a scrap from an old Laura Ashley dress. The pattern makes the hat reversible, but I thought a strap would be more helpful.

This actually wasn't my first denim baby sun hat. Almost three years ago I made the hat seen on Leo below for Louisa from The Children's Year. My mother and sisters and I used to make projects from this book when I was a girl.

I made this one when I was still sewing on my grandmother's Singer Featherweight, and making the brim fit the hat was a challenge for me. My mom showed me how many pins you need to fit two circular pieces together. The hat doesn't stay on long without a chin strap, but I think it is adorable.

And proof that my babies have abnormally small heads... this hat seen above on a five month old Leo, is sized for a three year old.