What do you do when you need a small baby gift in a pinch? What I did this weekend was to go straight to the stash, where I found a piece of rose-pink rib knit fabric, gleaned from the remnant bin on an earlier trip to the fabric store. That got the creative wheels turning. Sweater? Leggings? Hmmm….a sweet knitted cap that I do not have to knit! I dug around in some knitting patterns and with a little math figured out that I needed a piece of fabric approximately 13 inches square to fit an almost-ten-month-old Miss. Pink thread; check. Short and narrow zig-zag stitch on the machine to maintain the stretch of the fabric; check. Assorted notions such as ribbons and lace; check. So let’s roll!

A simple start to an easy project.

Doubled-up tube.

Curved seams make a rounded cap. Straight ones across the double raw edge will give you a cute four-cornered effect.

My first step after measuring and cutting the fabric was to sew it in a tube with the ribs running lengthwise. Then I folded the tube into itself with the seam allowance inside the fold and lined up the length of the new shorter-by-half tube. I placed the cap flat on my table and marked my stitching lines in a gentle arc from the top double edge to the side of the tube. I made sure to start about one fourth of the way in from the side. Then I folded  the cap in the opposite direction and stitched the same curved seams from the centre top to the side. Once the seams were stitched, I trimmed away the excess seam allowance and carefully stitched down what remained to give a smooth finish. As a variation, a very cute four-cornered effect can be had by folding the tube the same way and stitching straight across the top raw edge of each of the four “fins”.

Carefully stitch down seam allowance on the inside.

Looks like a half-blimp. Or something.

Finally, I fashioned a tiny rosette with a scrap of lace by gathering it tightly with a hand basting stitch and attaching it firmly to a turned-up brim. A mini-yoyo of bright blue and two dots of a brown cotton print layered in the centre to hide all manner of sins were fastened with a crossed stitch to resemble a sewn-on button and voila! An adorable cloche for a tiny fashionista. Colours and decorations can of course be adjusted to suit the sex of the child or personal preferences. *A safety note: use soft, child-safe embellishments rather than those fabulous turquoise beads in your notions box.

The wee lass’s mom and grandparents loved it, and miraculously, she kept it on for over an hour!

Sewing enthusiasts of all skill levels, Try This!