DIY Elf Hats

I love the sewing school blog.

♥the simplicity of it ♥the child-centered approach they take to the activities. ♥ that they keep their projects totally kid-done and always have fun tasks that allow creativity and independence. ♥ that they just came out with a book that I am looking forward to getting at some point for the girls. (Wow, just added the link and that is a great price. I may need to add it to my overflowing Amazon cart:-) There classroom looks like my ideal learning and teaching environment.

I had Madison's second grade class make these hats from the sewing school last year for their holiday party and I am taking advantage of only having 3 of the same students in her class this year to do a repeat. They were a huge hit last year and it was so fun to hear the pride the students had in doing their own sewing.

Nora and I decided to do a sample hat this afternoon to make sure everything was right. The worst thing ever is to go in and do a project with students and have it not turn out. I figure doing it one-on-one with a 5 year old should be about the same as a group of six 8/9 year olds.
Step One: Make a triangle template with a base of 25 inches and a height of 12.5 inches. Trace triangle onto fleece fabric. VERY IMPORTANT: the 25 inch base needs to go with the stretchy part of the fabric. This ensures a one-size-fits-all hat.

Step Two: Cut triangle out.
Step Three: Fold in half and stitch up the seam. Nora and I used a thick embroidery thread because I thought it would add a great contrast to the red fleece, which it did. But it was tougher to pull through the fabric so I will go with a thinner thread for the class project. I used 40 inches of thread and that seemed about perfect in length.

Step Four: Don't forget the jingle bell on top:-)

Follow-Up Note: Hop on over to Sewing School blog to enter a chance to win an adorale starter sewing kit. Perfect for a child wanting to start learning the craft of sewing.