Hat's Off!

Kwik Sew 3397

Burda 4239, View D - Middle row, Left

A friend of mine needed hats.
I needed to get in some sewing time.
Win-win!

She had patterns and fabric at home, but she lives a bit far away from me.
I, too, had patterns and fabric at home.
Win-win again!

"Something in red!"she said.
(And doesn't everyone have an inner Hello Kitty?)
Win, Place, Show!

I found two patterns in my stash, some cute Hello Kitty fabric from Jo-Ann's (2010), and a fun red lacy print fabric.   She could decide which style, which fit and which pattern flattered her.  And which side, since they were lined and I made them reversible

We called the Kwik Sew 3397 the "cake hat", as it looked just like a round cake, and the Burda 4239 the "baseball hat", as it had the six pieced top similar to a baseball cap.

Burda 4239 is the "old-school" Burda, albeit over 20 years old - the green tissue paper, adding the seam allowances.  Oh how I've missed this type of Burda pattern!  You may be able to find it,  it still pops up on the Internet/Etsy/Pinterest.

Kwik Sew 3397 is still available online from the Kwik Sew website.

Here's how they stacked up --

Burda 4239

Burda 4239

Yeah, wow!

Burda View D kind of showed its age, style-wise.  The other views maybe as so much.  But the pattern piece engineering, as usual, as it used to be, was perfect.  Look how the pieces all matched!

Serged/Trimmed

By cutting duplicate top pieces, I was able to line it and make it reversible by serging the brim/cap seam.









However, View D probably had its day in the sun and was not the most stylish.  The 2 1/2" brim just didn't seam (sic) in proportion to the top pieces.  It looked too short on my head, and I think that was a factor for my friend, too.

Kwik Sew 3397

Kwik Sew 3397

Now the Kwik Sew -- grab this pattern!  Look how perfectly the top fit into the side piece.  No need to ease, or expand your cursing vocabulary.  It slipped and sewed right in.
As did the band, which measured 2 3/4"

Circle in the square, so to speak.

It also looked the best on us.   I'm ready to make it again in all sorts of fabrics.  For both of us!  This is a universally flattering hat!

Here's a sewing tip - fuse the interfacing to the fabric before cutting out.  Do a quick layout and see how much you will need to interface, fuse, then cut.  I don't know about you, but what I cut as the interfacing never seems to match up as well to the fashion fabric.  This insured no glue residue on my iron, ironing board or "near misses".  A little iron touch-up after cutting out and you are ready to sew!