The Bucket List
If you have a bucket list, I sure hope you have several of our National Parks on it! Whether you've already made travel plans or you're still working on your list, here's a fun project that might get you in the mood.
Made with the nostalgic collection National Parks by The Anderson Group brought to us by Riley Blake Designs, this fun bucket hat will certainly get you ready for a park visit. Whether for gals, guys or little ones, bucket hats are a fun project!
A quick internet search will bring up several bucket hat how-to's. We chose this free pattern: https://www.turnerpublishing.com/files/uploads/BasicBucketHat-2.pdf
We tweaked the pattern a bit and made it reversible. The best place to do this in this type of hat is the side seam of the band. Though it seems like sewing two hats , sandwiching them together and sewing at the edge of the brim is a good idea, it really isn't.
Making the brim section first and doing your multiple rows of top-stitching (the iconic look of most bucket hats) before sewing to the band, is much better.
We used the Sea Green National Parks Patches print for the outside and the Sand Map print for the reverse. Because two fabrics are just never enough, we added a snazzy hat band of the Black Sign print.
You'll need cuts larger than a fat quarter due to the circumference of the hat brim. Buy at least half yard cuts and you'll have nice scraps for another project!
Next up: we'll have the pattern to make a great saddle bag!
Feeling adventurous yet?
Happy Sewing,
-AH