There is little else like making something yourself and having it turn out just right. I know the
feeling is rare. And, it seems, the more challenging the project, the greater the satisfaction. I designed
this booklet with the first-time tailor in mind. It will take you, step-by-step, through the preparation,
cutting, and assembling of an authentic Tudor flat cap appropriate for any Renaissance Fair. This design
is simple and rugged. When you are finished, you will have learned:
A quick, efficient tailoring method, called "bagging out"
Sewing terms used in all commercial patterns
Common, basic craft skills needed whenever you design and sew clothing.
How making a whole costume using these project booklets is simple.
Now get yourself set up to sew the cap by following the steps below.
Completely and carefully read these instructions over. Even for a small project, you do not want
to discover, at the end, that you forgot to do something. In developing my costumes, I have had this
happen often enough to realize that I can mess up even a familiar pattern this way, much more so a new
one.
In addition, because you are custom-fitting this, and other, costume pieces, you must know
before you start cutting where you will enlarge or size down the pattern.
Step Two
Gather the tools you will need to do this project.
A sewing machine (or access to one.)
A cutting board (You can find these made of plastic or cardboard. It protects your table.)
Sharp scissors (If you have to buy news ones, do so. They will much more easily cut and spare you
from much frustration.) --AND/OR--
A Rotary Cutter (This is like a pizza cutter, and makes cutting curves like cutting warm butter.)
Fabric pencils (These soft pencils make highly visible, temporary marks on fabric. Colored artists'
pencils are too hard to make clear marks. Chalk is the other alternative.)
A yardstick (Preferably metal.)
A 60" or longer measuring tape
Beaded pins and a large magnet (Buy many of these, and have something handy to store them.)
An assortment of sewing needles and threaders (a threader is a dime-size tool with a loop of fine
wire that makes threading a needle much easier.)
Plain pattern paper or a roll of plain brown wrapping paper (To make a reusable pattern.)
Step Three
Now gather the materials you will use for your hat.
Fabric (two or more yards per hat of anything like these: Felt, Burlap, Corduroy, Velvet, Tapestry,
Leather, Suede, etc.)*
Mid-weight interfacing (To stiffen the brim. Get a yard or more)* **
Thread matching the color of the fabric (Believe me, the lower the price of the thread, the more it will
break when you sew.)
One yard of 3/4" wide, woven ribbon for an outer, decorative hat band and yard of 1" to 1 1/2" wide
for an inner hat band
An ostrich plume (In a color that complements the hat.)
* This is a general estimate, based on this pattern. It may be less for smaller heads. Follow the instructions under, "Getting the Proper Fit," in the section, "Setting Up the Pattern," to figure the right yardage.
**There are brands of interfacing that can be ironed on like a patch. These will work well for this project.
A Few Terms You Need to Know
Seam: This is where you join two pieces of fabric, like the seat of your pants that slits at awkward
times. There are two threads in every seam, the main thread, and the bobbin thread.
Seam allowance: How far in from the raw edge of the fabric you make the seam (For this pattern, it is about a 1/2".)
Bobbin thread: This is the thread that comes up from below on the sewing machine.
Selvage: These are the factory-finished edges of the fabric. They follow the grain of the fabric.
When you see the instruction, "cut along the grainline," or an illustration like this --
grainline
<------------------>
-- then that means line up parallel to the selvage.
Layout: The arrangement of pattern pieces on the fabric for the most efficient use of material.
On the fold: A pattern piece that is to be cut from a folded piece of cloth (e.g., cut a semicircle on
the fold, and you will get a whole circle of cloth.)
Nap: Velvety fabric (like velvet, corduroy, etc.) lays in one direction, like fur. When you
rub it one way, the pile looks dark. Rub it the other way, and it looks light. You see something like this when you
vacuum carpet, too (assuming you do the vacuuming, and not someone else.) In a garment, the
nap has to run the same direction all around, or one part will look lighter than the rest, and that is
poor handiwork. As a rule of thumb, the nap follows the grainline, but make sure each time you cut
that it all runs the same way. To ensure this happens, many commercial patterns have special
layouts for fabrics with a nap. For this pattern, the layout is the same for any fabric.
Baste: This is where you loosely stitch two pieces together by hand, to hold them together for
sewing. It is not permanent, but will be covered over or removed afterwards. You can do the same
thing with beaded pins, but on circular or small seams the fabric tends to unevenly bunch up.
Interfacing: This is some form of a stiffener that a tailor inserts between the outer shell of a garment
and the inner lining, to keep the piece from flopping around. It can be plain or fusible, meaning it will
iron on like a patch. Shirt cuffs and collars, and jacket lapels all have various forms of interfacing.
Here, it is for the hat brim.
Right sides together: Whenever you sew a garment, you sew it inside out, or "right sides
together." On all fabrics, the right side is the outside. So, on velvet, "right sides together" is a
velvety side against a velvety side (In subsequent illustrations, this will be the side colored blue.)
Wrong sides together: Using the above example, "wrong sides together" is sewing with the right
sides out. The opposite of "right sides together" (In subsequent illustrations, this will be the side
colored red.)
Bagging out: A form of tailoring that assembles two identically cut pieces of fabric, one of the shell
and one of the lining, with the right sides together. This makes the stitches "hidden." When the
sewing is near completion, you turn the whole thing right sides out, and the final seam is sewn shut.
Top Stitch: To make a seam where the stitches are visible. In bagging out, you close the final seam
by top stitching.
Stitch length: A setting on your sewing machine that determines the length of each stitch in a seam.
The longer the length, the looser the seam.
Stitch Width: When zig-zagging the edge of a seam, this machine setting determines how wide the
pattern will be (A good rule of thumb is to set the stitch width the same as the stitch length.)
