Handmade Hanukkah Day 1: Perky Pom Pom Hats

I love pom poms!  I LOVE POM POMS!  Using some fleece leftover from the silky baby blanket I made some super-simple pom pom hats for Scarlet and her cousin JoJo.  Sorry JoJo, all your suprises will be revealed on Prudent Baby.  Luckily you are too little to read blogs just yet.

Anyhoo, get the ten-minute Perky Pom Pom Hat tutorial after the jump...

Perky Pom Pom Hat

1.  Measure your recipient's head circumference, or take a guess, or check their baby blog because parents tend to report these dr. visit details.  Cut rectangles of fleece that are the head circumference on one side and 10"-12" on the other - whatever size fabric you have on hand, this doesn't need to be crazy specific.  For Scarlet (age 20 months) my rectangle was 19"X10", for Jojo (4 months) it was 15"X10".  Also cut a long skinny piece for the pom-pom.  About 15"X4" but again, doesn't have to be specific, if you have a 10"X3" piece that will work fine too.

2.  Take your big rectangle and fold it with right sides facing so the two 10" sides are together (or whatever side is not your head circumference) and sew (you have created a tube):

3.  Then, without turning the fabric yet, sew one of the other sides together, so now you have two sewn sides, one folded side, and one open side.  Trim the seam allowance and snip the sewn corner:


4.  Turn inside out so it looks like this:

5.  Take the two corners and bring them together and sew in place.  You can hand sew or you can maneuver it into your sewing machine like i did, just stitch back and forth a few times.

See, you've sewn the tip of your hat together:

6.  To hem the head opening, fold the open edge and pin, however deep you'd like your seam to be, and top stitch in place with a coordinating thread:

6.  Set your hat aside for a second, take your strip of pom pom fabric and fold in half widthwise, and make some cuts (not all the way through, leave a centimeter or so in the middle) for your pom pom:

Then unfold so it looks like this:

7.  Roll it up and pin:

Then get some embroidery thread or some strong thread and a needle.  Tie a knot at the end of your thread, run it through the center of your pom pom, then wrap it around a few times and run it through again, leaving the threaded needle attached:

8.  Pull your hat to a point and run your thread through the inside of the hat, out around the point and back in to attach your pom pom.  Do this a few times and pull it tight.  Wrap the thread around itself under your pom pom like you're sewing a button.  Three or four times should do it.  When you feel like your pom pom is securely attached, run your needle through to the inside and make a couple slip stitch knots and cut.

You're done!  So simple and cozy!