Sewn Hats Blog Tour & Book Giveaway

[UPDATED: Comments are closed. Winner to be posted shortly, stay tuned!]

Sewn Hats is here! This long-awaited, gorgeous book is chock-full of hat patterns for everyone with a head. Besides being beautiful and packed with adorable patterns by well-known designers, and pulled together by the amazing Carla Crim of Scientific Seamstress, it gets even better ... yes it does ... the patterns are available in PDF format! No copying or tracing from the book, no enlarging or fiddling. You go to the provided links, print on your regular printer paper, and get sewing, following the pristine diagrams and crystal clear instructions. Thirty-five hat patterns for the price of one book. Really.

Now if you know anything about PDF patterns, you know Carla's Scientific Seamstress and Sis Boom patterns (collaborated with the swoon-inducing Jennifer Paganelli) are top-notch (and are available, among other places, in the Scientific Seamstress etsy shop). Sewn Hats reflects Carla's perfectionism and attention to detail on every page and is even sprinkled with clever her sense of humor. I was so excited when she called me and asked to include two of my patterns in her book. Both patterns we chose are for fleece hats, easy and fast to sew, frugal on fabric, and for everyone on your list from baby to Dad. They are both great patterns for beginners, both due to simple design and because fleece needs no seam finishing and its pile is forgiving of slightly crookedy seams and other minor sewing infractions.

One of the two Tie Dye Diva patterns in Sewn Hats

Here are some tips for sewing with fleece:

1. Fleece doesn’t fray or unravel, so there’s no need to finish your seams. You can of course use a serger if you prefer.

2. Fleece is a knit fabric. Now don't let that scare you! This just means that seams that will be stressed (stretched) when the finished item is worn should be sewn with a stitch that will allow the fabric to stretch. You can use a serger, a stretch stitch, a narrow zigzag stitch, or a 'longer than standard' straight stitch (about 3.5 on my machine). 100% polyester thread also helps with allowing the seams to stretch along with the fabric.

2. It can be tricky to figure out which side of fleece is the “right” side. On some fleece, the right side is furrier, and easy to distinguish from the wrong side. On other fleece, both sides look similar. If you cannot tell by looking, stretch a piece along the cross grain (stretchy direction); the fabric edges will curl to the wrong side.

3. Consider use long pins with heads when sewing fleece. Traditional pins can get lost in the pile. When your project is complete, double-check for pins before letting anyone try it on.

The full Sewn Hats blog tour list is below, and each stop will include a giveaway, so make sure you visit them all!

9/5 - MODKID Boutique

9/6 – FrenchGeneral.blogspot.com

9/10 – Pink Chalk Studio

9/11 - LuluBliss.com

9/13 – Green Bee Patterns

9/14 – Goosie Girl Boutique

9/17 – Melissa Stramel from Lilac Lane

9/19 – OneGirlCircus.com

9/20 – Tie Dye Diva Patterns [You are here!]

9/21 – Figgy’s Patterns

9/25 – Craftiness is not Optional

9/26 – Bari J.

9/27 – Confessions of a Craft Addict

9/28 – Jennifer Paganelli at Sis Boom

10/1 – Sew Mama Sew

10/2 – Aesthetic Nest

10/3 – Blue Nickel Studios

10/4 – Betz White

10/8 – Yummy Goods

10/10- Wiley Craft

For each stop on the blog tour, including this one here at Tie Dye Diva, Wiley Publishing is giving away a copy of Sewn Hats to one lucky winner (in the US only; no PO Boxes). Just leave a comment below answering the question, have you ever sewn a hat (what kind)?  and you'll be entered for your chance to win. Be sure to leave a way to reach you! I'll draw a random winner on Thursday, September 27. [UPDATED: Comments are closed. Winner to be posted shortly, stay tuned!]