West Coast Bestie's Beanie

After searching on line I came across several free pdf patterns but none of them were exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a longer length hat pattern with a wider band that can be folded up or worn flat. The resulting pattern, which I have already made for several friends is now fondly known as the West Coast Bestie's Beanie.

The pattern itself is great for a scrap busting project. It doesn't use very much fabric at all. The hat pattern can easily be cut out of odd shaped pieces left over from other makes, and the band pattern piece is a perfect fit for that last bit of long fabric that is often left over as well. As long as you use at least a single knit fabric that has stretch horizontally across the hat and band you are good to go!

The pattern uses a 3/8" seam allowance and it is best to make it with an overlocker. If you don't have one, not to worry a stretch knit large zig zag stitch will do the trick.Cut 2 hat pieces on the fold making sure that the direction of the stretch goes across the pattern piece. You won't need a pattern piece for the band, just measure a 4" X 11" strip on the fold.

This size can be adjusted easily if you prefer a tighter fit, simply wrap the strip around your head, pinch the short ends together and determine the fit that you like best.

If you would like to change up the basic look of the beanie by adding different Pom Poms, leave a small unsewn hole in the seam at the top of the hat when you sew the two pieces together.Then turn the hat inside out and attach a short piece of ribbon or elastic to the underside of the hat across the top seam. This allows you to feed a ribbon tie through the loop of the Pom Pom down through the small hole it the hat in order to anchor it to the piece of ribbon. Now you can change the Poms, take them off when you want to wash the beanie or wear the hat without a Pom. This idea to came to me when I was out for a bike ride and couldn't wear my beanie under my bike helmet. Now I simply untie the Pom if needed and off I go. If you are using a more expensive faux fur Pom it is also nice to preserve it by not having it go through the wash.Of course you can choose to put any style of Pom Pom on your beanie. I love the glam of a good fur Pom Pom. They can be sourced from your local fabric store or on line through Amazon. There are neutrals and super fun colours available. If you want to make your own fur Pom Pom click here for a tutorial. Making a yarn Pom is another great way to scrap bust some of your yarn. For a quick tutorial on this click here.For my running beanie I created a my own Pom with some left over fabric strips to match the beanie. You can see the directions for this in this previous post.Adding the ribbon loop inside your beanie means that the options are endless. You can change the colour of your Pom, or the type of Pom depending on the outfit or you can interchange beanies and Poms depending on your mood. No matter what your style choices are this is a fun way to sew up a beanie for yourself and gifts for your Besties. The West Coast Bestie's Beanie makes a fun gift for all.I hope that you find this pattern useful. All I ask is that you use it for yourself, your family and your friends and that you don't use it for profit.To download the free pdf head over to my sewing blog at Sew Much To Design