A Drop in the Bucket...Hat

Friends, after the excitement of yesterday's musical comedy vlog extravaganza, anything that followed was bound to be an anticlimax.

Today I decided I'd give the bucket hat from McCalls 2205 a try, just to warm myself up for the week ahead.  Maybe I was tired, maybe I started too late in the day and worked too long -- this project is not giving me a whole lot of joy.



I've never made a bucket hat before and I consider this first stab to be a potentially wearable muslin,  though perhaps not by me or anyone I know.

The pattern itself is just three pieces.  The instructions have you interface only the top brim.



For fabric, I decided to use this tropical print cotton MPB reader "Babe" sent me a few years ago.  I think it's perfect for a summer hat.  Since it's a heavier weight -- similar to quilting cotton -- it doesn't need that much extra support.









I used two interfacings from Fashion Sewing Supply:  on the outer brim, ProWoven Super-Crisp.  On the top of the crown, ProWoven Light-Crisp.  I was going to interface the sides too but decided not to: the hat is fully lined with a layer of the same fabric; that should be enough.











Here's how things look after nearly an hour of stitching concentric rings of topstitching on the brim with my Singer 201.  I did this by (tired) eye; it could be worse.







My biggest concern is that the brim is going to be too floppy and wavy despite being interfaced.  That's actually the way the hat on the pattern envelope looks -- not a good sign!



I think the trick to avoiding the waviness is to use a stiffer fabric with less interfacing.  But maybe it's unavoidable.  Perhaps I should have interfaced both sides of the brim instead of just the outward-facing side.  If you know, please share.

I expect to finish this tomorrow.  I also thought about making the shirt until I realized the shirt pattern doesn't even include a back yoke.  What's that about?



Anyway, it's nearly bedtime and I'm bushed. 

Have a great day, everybody!