How to Make a Cute, Sheer DIY Bucket Hat For Spring & Summer

Sachi’s Studio
by Sachi’s Studio
9 Materials
$40
30 Minutes
Medium

I’m going to show you how to make a DIY bucket hat with embroidered net fabric. For this design, I’m going to flatline/underline the embroidered netting with the stiff tulle to give the hat the thickness it needs.


This means that for this DIY, I’m going to layer the two fabrics together and treat them as one layer. This way, I can keep the transparency of the pretty embroidered netting and make the hat have more structure.

Tools and materials:

  • Embroidered net fabric
  • Bucket hat pattern
  • Stiff tulle fabric
  • Cutting mat
  • Rotary cutter
  • Weights
  • Pins
  • Sewing machine
  • Seam and hem finish
  • Scissors
DIY bucket hat pattern

1. Cut the pieces

First, lay the stiff tulle on your cutting mat and place the embroidered netting over it. You can use my free bucket hat pattern.


Align the pattern with the straight line of your cutting mat or the edge of your table to keep the grain of the fabric straight. Then, align the arrow on the pattern with the grain of the fabric. Cut out six of the same pieces using a rotary cutter.


Tip: It is helpful to place weights on the pattern to stop it from moving around.

Adding seam allowance to the DIY bucket hat pattern

Add a half-inch to the hem of the hat for a seam allowance. You can make a hat with a bigger brim by adding more inches here in this way.

Cutting out the DIY bucket hat pattern

2. Pin

After removing the weights, place some pins through the fabrics to keep the two layers together. Pin through the embroidered areas so that the pins won't shift around.

Cutting out the DIY bucket hat pattern pieces

3. Repeat

Since I’m not going to worry about the pattern matching in this project, I flipped the pattern to save the fabric. Ensure to keep the grain of the fabric straight. Cut out five more pattern pieces.

Sewing the edges of the pattern pieces

4. Sew the edges

Once you have cut out six pieces of double layers, sew around the edge of each piece about ⅛ or 3/16 of an inch in from the edge. You can remove the pins when you have sewn around the edge.

Connecting the pattern pieces

5. Connect the pieces

Arrange the pieces as shown above and sew two lots of three pieces together.


To do this, place one piece on top of another with the right sides touching and sew along one side with ¼ of an inch seam allowance. 

How to make a bucket hat

Then, open the two pieces up. Place the third piece on top of the middle piece with the right sides touching and sew down the side.

Finishing the raw edges

6. Finish the edges

The next step is to wrap the edges with some seam and hem finish. For me, this is a must when it comes to sewing sheer fabric.


Trim the seam allowances just a little to make the edge smooth. Then wrap the seam allowance with your finish and pin it at the beginning.


You can also pin all the way down if that is easier for you. Proceed to sew down; I used a regular zigzag stitch for this. 

How to sew a bucket hat

When I came to the curve of the hat, I snipped a couple of notches to release the tension. I also pulled the curved seam allowance straight before wrapping it with the seam finish.

Make your own bucket hat

7. Repeat

Repeat this whole process with the other three sections of the hat.

Connecting the two pieces together

8. Connect the two pieces

Once you have your two parts, each made up of three sections, place one on top of the other with the right sides facing.


Sew all around the edges of the hat, obviously leaving the bottom part open so that you can put it on your head.

Hemming the bottom of the hat

9. Hem the bottom

The final step is to finish the bottom of the hat by folding it in twice to create a hem and pin the hem down. Continue to sew it all the way around the hat.

DIY bucket hat

DIY bucket hat tutorial

My DIY bucket hat is complete. I think it came out light and airy, holding its shape without any extra weight. The great thing about this hat is that you can throw it in your bag, and it will spring back to its shape when you take it out.


It might not protect you from the sun so much, but the sheer design looks super cute for spring and summer. It’s great on-the-go coverage for when you’re having a bad hair day!

DIY bucket hat tutorial

Let me know what you think of this tutorial and the final result in the comments below.


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Suggested materials:
  • Embroidered net fabric
  • Stiff tulle fabric
  • Cutting mat
See all materials

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Comments
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 2 comments
  • TheSeamstress TheSeamstress on Apr 15, 2022

    and I just gave all my tulle away to the thrift store. This would be perfect as my head gets so hot when I wear hats in the summer

    • Sachi’s Studio Sachi’s Studio on Apr 22, 2022

      I got my tulle from a local thrift store :) I use this hat to cover up my bad hair days !

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