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YOU GUYS, LOOK WHAT I DID.

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You know, I don’t much care for chintzy florals, and I don’t much like pink, but I KIND OF LOVE THIS.

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Partner’s comment when he put it on for the first time:  “Oh, yes.  I AM my grandma’s wallpaper.”

Here’s the linen version:

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The combination of the color and the shape makes it a little bit Castro-esque, but my partner likes it.  Power to the cyclists!

(It’s really hard to take pics of these things without a head to put them on, BTW.)

And a glimpse into the innards:

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Okay, notes on the pattern:

—  Easy and quick to construct.  Not the most detailed diagrams or instructions, and there are a few odd choices in how the construction is done and a few missing details (I had the impression that the pattern was written by a not-very-experienced sewer for other not-very-experienced sewers), but pretty easy to figure out.

—  Pattern calls for 1/2 yard of fabric, but that’s actually more than you need; you can get at least 2 caps from a 1/2 yard.  So this would be a great project to use up smaller pieces of fabric (and elastic, too, as I only used about 5″ per cap).

—  The sizing was right on.  I measured my honey right above the eyebrows (pattern doesn’t say where on the head to measure) and the resulting cap was just right for him.  The only modification we did was to add 1/4″ to the length of the cap, so that it would come down a little farther over his ears.

—  The pattern is meant for wovens only, so no wicking “performance” fabrics.  We’ll see how my partner likes these when it gets really hot here.  I may try sizing down and using a wicking fabric for a future version.  For cold weather, the pattern includes a pattern piece for earflaps.

—  I used the overlock stitch on my sewing machine to do the major seams, which have a 1/4″ seam allowance.  Next time, I might try covering the seams with single-fold bias tape, since I topstitch them, anyway.

—  I used a thick, stiff, craft-type fusible interfacing for the bills and that worked really well.  The instructions suggest using a thin plastic and fitting the bill to it, but I think the interfacing was easier.  I tried ironing it on before and after sewing the bill together, and putting it on before worked a lot better.

—  The instructions tell you to use twill tape for the band around the base of the cap, which I did for my muslin.  I couldn’t find matching twill tape for the two versions here, so I used single-fold bias tape, which I think gives a nicer finish.   If you use the wide tape, as I did on the linen cap, you can open up the tape, pin it on right sides together, and use the fold in the tape as your stitching line; this is really handy because, with the bill in the way, you can’t use the guide on your machine to get the proper seam allowance.  3/8″ elastic fits perfectly under the wide bias tape.

So . . . pretty good pattern and we’re really happy with the results.  The flowered cap will get its first trial this coming weekend:  partner and his buddies will be riding from Portland, OR, to Olympia, WA, in 24 hours.  As my mother said the first time I told her he was going to ride his bike (voluntarily) for over 100 miles:  “but he LOOKS like a normal person.”

STH