How to sew a feathered hat band with Bitzy the Bard
How to Make Feathered Hat Bands
Every good bard needs a hat with big feathers on it. It’s in the code. So I decided I needed to make one.
While shopping at my favorite thrift shop, I was lucky enough to find the perfect black wool felt hat that just needed a little love. So for $5, I was on my way with my treasure. I removed the odd, beat-up hat band it had originally and gave it a good cleaning with my trusty lint brush. Now all it needed was a new band and some accessories.
Let me share with you the process of making a hat band for it. It was really very simple and took around a half hour.
Materials
- Hat
- 1/4 yard of silky fabric
- Buckle or large pin
- Pin back
- Button
- Feathers
- Sewing supplies
- Hot glue gun
Directions
1. Measure around the hat for the size of the band. Add 6″ or so for overlap. My measurement came to 26″. Cut a strip of fabric 4″ wide and that length measurement.
2. Fold the fabric in half with RIGHT sides together. Sew it on the sewing machine.
3. Press the seam open and sew across it 1/2 inch from the end.
4. Turn it right out using a pencil or ruler to push the corners out. Press it flat with your iron. The seam should be centered on the back side, so it is not visible.
5. Thread the band through a buckle or large pin. Wrap the band taunt around your hat. Because I wanted to reuse the same hat and hat band with different buckles, I overlapped it and pinned it with a safety pin. If you only plan to do one look, you could stitch it in this step instead.
6. Cut a 3″x 9″ piece of the silky fabric and fold it with WRONG sides together. Hand baste it near one side using a needle and knotted thread.
7. Pull the basting thread tight so that the fabric is sheered. Fold under the edge on one side and overlap the other side. Adjust it to form a simple rosette.
8. Stitch the rosette securely and sew on a pin back to the back side. If you plan on making just one hat, you could skip this step and hot glue it to the band at the end.
9. Sew a fancy button to the front of the rosette. I used a button I found with a musical instrument to reflect my profession of bard.
10. Hot glue feathers on the back of the rosette. Less is more in this step.
11. Pin the rosette to the hat band with the feathers at a jaunty angle, and your look is complete!
Because I plan to wear the hat at upcoming conventions, I wanted to be able to vary the look. I can’t decide if I like the red or the teal look better. What do you think?
If you have any questions, ask them in the comment fields below.
Every good bard needs a hat with big feathers on it. It’s in the code. So I decided I needed to make one.
