Happy Holidays everyone! I’m ready to get into the Christmas spirit. Did I mention I’m ditching the consumer frenzy this year and opting for more simple, eco-friendly, and personal gifts? Yes, you heard right, I’m making or thrifting all of my gifts this year. And I’m happy to let you, dear readers, participate in

Craft 1: Fleece Beanie Hat Tutorial

I got an email from Joann Fabrics mentioning fleece was 50% off. So I spent an ungodly amount of money and have yards and yards of the stuff.

Today’s craft is a fleece beanie hat (with tutorial!).

You will need:
-measuring tape, scissors, pins
-fleece about 1/2 a yard
-sewing machine and thread
-marking pen or chalk

First: Take a measuring tape and measure your head around the ears. If you are making a gift, Martha Stewart has average head sizes listed on one of her hat crafts. You’ll also want to measure from the base of where you plan to wear your hat to the back of the head, where you think the hat should end. This is the crown distance.

Next: Cut out a piece of fleece measuring the length of the circumference of your head, and the height of the crown measurement. Add a quarter of an inch to all sides to allow for seams. This is the size my fleece cutout was.

Next: Fold the fleece piece in half lengthwise. Using chalk, place a line on the halfway point of the length of your hat, so probably around 12 or so inches. Then draw a curve from the point down to the end of the fleece. Here’s what I did:

Fold the fleece in half again at the halfway mark (so it’s in quarters), flatten it, and cut around the white arc.

Sew along the white line, or at 5/8ths an inch.

Trim the seams. Here you can use pinking shears. Or you can serge them or zigzag, whatever you want to finish the seams. I left them raw.

The next part is making the seam around the forehead and ears. I turned my seam in and left it at a quarter an inch. Then I sewed along the edge.

Turn the hat inside out, and you’re done!

Super sexy, about to go to bed, webcam photo.

Snug and warm!