No-Sew Hats Tutorial

No-Sew Hats photos and tutorial by Christine Damitz 

is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Please click here for more details.

These little stockinette hats are about as easy as bereavement angel clothing gets.  They're perfect for a no-sew project, and they are so quick, you can make handfuls in an hour.  They're extremely stretchy, a must for angel hats, making it very easy for volunteers to dress angel babies.

In 2010 I was approached by Utah Share to create and share a tutorial for these stockinette hats.  This is not my original idea.  The method has been used by hospitals for years, with no traceable pattern author.   
Photos and tutorial are property of Christine Damitz.

**New: Download printable instructions here**
(You may need to download the document to view all the text)

**View Full Video Tutorial here**


Angel Outfitters includes pairs of identical No-Sew Hats to the items we send out in donations.  Each pair provides families with a hat for their baby and and one for a keepsake. 

We also provide free personalized, custom cards to attach to your hat sets. 
Please note that cards are no longer required to include with your donation, but they are available if you wish to use them to dedicate your hat contribution to the angel baby closest to your heart. These cards also provide hospitals and angel families a link back to our project as a resource for their own requests or donations. 

To request personalized HAT CARDS, and Staff Cards, please email christine.angeloutfitters@gmail.com

Supplies

Stockinette tubing *see bottom of post for ordering sources*

scissors

narrow ribbon

measure tape/ruler
embellishments
small, clear hair elastics (optional)
fabric glue

A quick note about ribbon.  If you are donating hats in addition to buntings, it's a nice touch to match the ribbon colors to the bunting fabrics.  
Optionally, you can pin the hats right to the coordinating buntings, as shown here.
If you're donating hats alone, please choose ribbon colors that easily coordinate with a large variety of fabrics.  (White, pale pink, baby blue, etc)

We typically send out buntings or tunics with equal numbers of boys and girls styles.  Please consider providing equal parts boy and girl hats to match.  It is also helpful if you tie identical hats into pairs, so the baby can wear one, and the family may take one home as a keepsake.

This is stockinette tubing, and it's used in the medical community to put under casts, or to hold bandages in place.  *see bottom of post for ordering options*  It comes in white, beige and occasionally several other pastel colors, and you can buy it at most medical supply stores.
Tip: if you order the "natural cotton", or "unbleached", it will be beige.  For white hats, order the polyester or synthetic version.
You can also use RIT dye to make new colors.

  Today we're using the 2" width, but it also comes in 3, and 4 inch widths.

It comes in a roll, and the fabric is already in a tube so there's no sewing at all!  

To make things super quick, mark the length you need on the box.  For each hat you'll need to cut a piece twice as long as the finished product.  For the 2" width of tubing, cut a piece of stockinette that is 8" long.  

Here's a cutting guideline for different sizes:

2" width - cut 8" and will fit 14 - 17 week angels (matches small bunting)

3" width - cut 11" and will fit 17 - 26 week angels (matches large bunting and small Angel Outfitters Tunic)

4" width - cut 16" and will fit 26 - 34 week angels

(matches large Angel Outfitters Tunic)

It is extremely important to cut the length accurately.  Hats that are too short are not usable and will have to be discarded.  

You can do this step however it's easiest for you.  You want to fold the tube in on itself through the middle of the tube, like turning a sock inside out, so both cut ends are lined up.  The only tricky part is making sure that it lays flat once it's done and isn't twisted on the inside.

Watch the video tutorial for a quick tip to make this step easier!

The cut edges should line up at the top. 

Cut a piece of ribbon.  Pinch the uncut edges together, and tie it about 1/2" from the top of the cut edge.

Here's an awesome tip.

 Use these itty bitty, clear hair elastics to hold the tip closed to make tying the ribbon on a bit easier.

Just wrap it around the top, about 1/2" from the cut edges and tie ribbon, as usual.

Or, for a reusable, cost effective option, simply use a clothespin or chip clip like so:

I recommend figuring out how much ribbon it takes for you, personally, to tie a bow, then cut a pile of ribbon all at once.

For boys just tie a knot, for girls you can tie a bow.

Now roll up the brim, and that's it!  A cute, very stretchy, very adjustable little hat.

Use fabric glue to add on little embellishments.  Fabri-Tac is my very favorite craft glue for this purpose.

So simple and elegant.

Now go make a couple dozen!

For the most up to date information on stockinette discounts available through Angel Outfitters, please visit our stockinette order information page, or to inquire about joining a group order, please contact Keira.

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All Angel Outfitters patterns and tutorials are owned by Christine Damitz, founder of Angel Outfitters and are protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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