Written by Cuddle® Ambassador Laura Severson

How to Make a Cuddle® Santa Hat

Hi, I’m Laura Severson, a Shannon Fabrics Cuddle® Ambassador and owner of Chase + Charlie! We are coming into the holiday season, and how much fun is it to have matching Santa hats for your group? I made a couple of hats using Luxe Cuddle® Encore. These are the SOFTEST Santa hats you will ever wear, and they will last for many years, too!

Luxe Cuddle® Encore in Cardinal (you could also use Luxe Cuddle® Hide as well)
Luxe Cuddle® Encore in Snow
Polyester sewing thread – Mettler
Fairfield Poly-Fil stuffing

Optional supplies for working with Cuddle®

90/14 jersey or stretch needle — SCHMETZ
Felt tip marker
Long, flower head pins — Clover
Micro-serrated scissors — Karen Kay Buckley, Famore or Kai
Rotary cutter and mat —OLFA
Stiletto and Pressing Tool — ByAnnie
Walking foot

How to make a Santa hat using Cuddle® fabrics

I started by using the Santa hat pattern that is available from Shannon Fabrics. This pattern included everything I needed, including fabric requirements, suggested notions, sewing instructions, and pattern pieces.

Step 1. Print and Cut Pattern Pieces

I wanted to make a child sized hat, so I followed the directions on the pattern pieces to enlarge them to the correct size. The pattern pieces can be copied/enlarged on your home printer. There are two pattern pieces to print (for the main part of the hat and the ball) and one rectangle piece to measure and cut.

Picture 02-1

Step 2. Cut Out Fabric Pieces

After enlarging and cutting out the pattern pieces, I placed them on the back side of my fabrics and traced around them. First, make sure the nap of your fabric is going the correct direction. Then, place your pattern piece on the fabric and trace around it with a felt tipped marker dark enough that you can see it.

Since none of your edges will be raw, you don’t have to worry about how you cut it. Typically, with Luxe Cuddle® you would try to just cut through the back of the fabric, but it is ok to cut straight through with your scissors. After I cut my pieces, I used my handheld vacuum to pick up stray fibers and keep my workstation clean. Following the directions of the pattern, I cut out my three pieces – the body of the hat, the hat brim, and the ball.

Step 3. Sew Hat Body to Brim of Hat

The first step in sewing the hat is to attach the body of the hat to the hat brim by placing the pieces right sides together. Make sure once these are stitched together and laid flat, the nap of both pieces of fabric will be going the same direction. Pin these together; make sure to double pin to ensure the fabric doesn’t move as you sew.

Untitled design (5)-4

Picture 07-1

Step 4. Fold and Sew Hat Together

Next, unfold the hat brim and fold the whole hat in half lengthwise. Pin together, making sure to double pin again. I started with a pin at the point, a pin in the seam from the brim to the body, and a pin at the bottom of the brim. Then I found the middle points between those pins and pinned. I continued like that to ensure it was pinned flat and everything matched up well. Stitch along the cut edge of hat.

Picture 08-1

Step 5. Roll Cuff and Stitch Down

After you have the hat itself constructed, and before you flip it right side out, roll the brim of the hat to the inside so the cut edge meets the seam where the body and brim connect. Hand stitch the edge of the brim to the hat using a slip or ladder stitch, or use a 4x4mm zigzag stitch if you prefer not to hand sew. Untitled design (7)-1

Step 6. Make the Ball and Attach to Hat

The last step is to make the ball for the hat and attach it. Take a piece of thread doubled over and knotted. Make a gathering stitch around the circle, about ¼” in from the sides. Once you’ve gone all the way around the circle, pull tight on the thread. Don’t pull it completely closed as you will want to put some stuffing inside of it first. Once you have your stuffing in, place the tip of the hat inside of the ball opening and pull the thread tight. Use the thread on your needle and attach the ball to the hat by hand.