Baste the third brim to the first brim assembly, at a 1/2" from the edges. Cut notches in this edge just like you did for the outer edge. Try the brims on. They should fit a little loosely at that basted line. (Figure to the right.)
If it fits tightly, cut out only 1/4" of material and try again. You will use a ribbon as a hat band, to snug up the it as you need it, so do not worry if it is too big. Repeat this step if it is still too tight. Once you get the fit you like, remove the third brim (that's why it was basted on instead of sewn on.)
Baste the third brim piece to the crown right sides together. Then sew them together at 1/2" in from
the outside edge. Use a stitch length setting of 2 or 3 (Figure to the left.) (For fabrics with a nap, make sure the
nap is running from front to back before sewing.) Turn the crown assembly inside out and push the seems out to their absolute limits from the insides, with a ruler or the stick from an ice cream bar.
Now, you have two halves to this hat: the brim assembly and the crown assembly. Both of these halves should be right sides out. Line up the holes and pin them together, being careful not to pin the crown down. Baste the brim and crown assemblies together.
Take a moment to look at your sewing machine. Most machines have a "free arm", which means that you can stick the bottom part of the sewing machine into things like sleeves and pant legs, so you can sew them properly instead of sewing them shut. Sometimes, there is a part of the machine that you have to remove to get the "free arm" to work. Please do this now, because you are going to sew the two halves of your hat together using the "free arm"`of your machine.
Stick the "free arm" into the hole and sew along the final seam line, 1/2" from the inner edge (Figure to the right.) Also, zig-zag the edge between the seam and the notches you cut out earlier, to keep the fabric from unraveling at the seam.
The hat is basically complete, with the exception of a few finishing touches.
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Laying out the Pattern and Sewing