Turtle Tail And Do Rag -- How To Make Bikers Cap (Do Rag)

For this Do Rag, I used my unwanted turtle neck long sleeved shirt which is made of stretchy cotton/polyester blend fabric.  I made up my own pattern for this project.

Cut away the sleeve seams as well as the armhole seams.

Open up the sleeve and lay it flat and lay the center panel pattern of the cap (Do Rag) on it and pin the pattern, making sure to follow the instructions written on the pattern piece.

Lay the side panel pattern of the cap over the shoulder area of the shirt and pin it in place so that the pattern does not move during cutting.

Lay the band pattern of the cap over the other side of the bodice of the shirt and pin it in place.

Mark the required cutting allowance on the fabric as/if required on all pattern pieces.


Note the dot on the pattern pieces indicates where stitching should start.

Cut the fabric as marked for each pattern piece.  The pattern states that for a small size adult no cutting allowance should be added, so I cut the fabric plum with the patterns and adjust the dot of the center panel 1/4 inch from the edge.

 

Pin the side panel and center panel together at the dot.  Use a pin to mark the dot onto the fabric.
Pierce a pin through both pieces starting at the marked (pinned area) from back to front along the raw edge of the two fabric pieces which are the center panel and the side panel.  Do the same for the other side of the cap.  See the photos below for this process.

Using a thread that matches the color of the fabric, use a narrow zigzag stitch to seam the two pieces together, starting at the dot(pinned area) of the fabric.  Machine setting: stitch width = 2mm, stitch length = 2 and 1/2 mm.  The reason for using zigzag stitch is so that the seam is flexible and the thread would not break when the seam is pulled or stretched.  Do the same for the other side.

Finish the raw edges by using a wider zigzag stitch (stitch width = 3mm).  with the cap facing wrong side up, lay the raw edge toward the center of the center panel and zigzag stitch starting at the dot.  Remembering to leave 1/4 " seam allowance on the side panel free.  Do the same for the other side.

Fold the raw edge of the center panel (turtle tail) toward the center and pin, then, finish it using a wide zigzag stitch.

Fold the center panel lengthwise matching raw edges evenly and mark the center using a pin.
Fold the band crosswise and mark the center using a pin also.  Bring these two centers together.

Open the band and use a pin to pierce the marked center from the wrong side of the band through the center of the front center panel.  Remove the 2 pins that marked the centers and retain the last pin.  Secure these pin at the center of both fabric and thread through both layers to keep them together.

Seam the two ends of the band. With the cap facing right side up, mark its center back with a pin.    Open the the seam and keep it open by pinning the raw seams onto the cap's center back which is marked with the pin.  Note: To find the center of the (turtle tail or center back of the cap), match the seams even, the center is where the fold falls. Finish pinning the band and the cap around,  distributing the slack or looseness of the cap evenly around the length of the band.  Note that the right side of the cap is facing up and the wrong side of the band is facing up.

 

Using a narrow zigzag as before, stitch the band and cap together starting at the dot and ending on the dot at the other side of the turtle tail.  The photo shows my index finger and little finger pointing to these dots which is marked with pins.  Note that the band is on top of the cap when stitching these two together.  The reason for this is that the raw edge of the band is lined up with the straight grain of fabric which has very little stretch, while the raw edge of the cap is aligned with the cross grain of the fabric which stretch a lot more. When sewing, the sewing machine tends to stretch the fabric, so the top layer needs to be stable to minimize this effect.

Turn the cap wrong side out and turn the raw seam toward the band.  Fold the raw edge of the band over the raw seams of the cap. Using a wide zigzag stitch, and the raw edge of the band even with the cap seam, sew over the raw edge around, starting and ending on the same spot. The zigzag stitch will prevent the edge from fraying.  Note that the turtle tail of the cap is left free.

Whew!!! Too many steps and 20 or more photos and it seemed that it took me forever to write the sewing instructions and especially to load the photos!  But it is finally done.  It took less time to make it than to write the instructions on how to make it.  The reward is the joy of having made something nice and useful out of a would be discarded shirt:)!

The back of the Do Rag can be worn two ways:  1) Let the turtle tail hang down under the band. 2) Fold the tip of the tail and tuck under the band.

My family and I really enjoyed wearing the hat!  It is really good to wear under helmet when biking or just wear it for protection from the sun and when working in the yard. It also keeps the bugs and dust out of ones hair but most of all it absorbes sweat which, without the hat, would be running from ones forehead to the eyes. 

How To Make A Bias Tape For A Summer Hat

Using a 44 to 54 sq. inch fabric fold it diagonally by matching the cross grain and selvedge (straight grain) together thereby forming a triangle.  Crease the fold using an iron or other tools.  ( I use my thumbnails).

Determine how wide you want the bias trim to be, plus 1/8 inch seam allowance.  Consider this formula:  Width of the underside bias trim  + width of the topside bias trim + 1/8 =  required width of the bias tape.  The underside and topside bias trim widths are not the same  to avoid bulk when sewing the layers together. I choose that the topside is 1/2 inch wide and the bottom side is 1/4 inch wide, so I need a total of 7/8 inch wide bias tape including seam allowance.  Mark 7/8 on the fabric using a hem gauge, from the diagonal fold.

Use a yard stick or other tools to draw the cutting line on the fabric, from marked area to the next.  Repeat the process through the entire length of the fold.

Cut on the marked line through the entire length of the fold.

Measure the surface to which the bias is going to be sewn (for the brim of the hat, measure around the brim to get how long the bias trim should be.  I don't necessary cut the length until I've sewn most of the trim around the hat to make sure that I don't cut short of what is required. (Note:  How to sew together two ends of bias tape will be discussed later on another post).

The entire length of the bias is enough for the brim of the hat and enough to make a bough and band for the hat.  Making the bough and the band are two topics that will be discussed later on more posts.

The Pros And Cons Of Refashioning

Pros:

Save money by buying second hand or used items at a minimum price.
Items fit perfectly as desired.  Help the environment by recycling and re-purposing items that otherwise will be thrown away.  Save time that otherwise spent on trying so many items that does not fit.  Save time that otherwise be spent on making things from scratch, such as cutting and sewing every part of an item.  You can have everything your way, almost.


Cons:

Time consuming as opposed to buying items that does not need altering

How To Decrease The Brim Of A Summer Hat

Cut the brim of the hat to desired width.

With underside of the hat facing up, pin the raw edge of the folded 7/8 inch (or wider) bias tape onto the edge of the brim all around the hat, except for 6 " sewing gap to connect the two ends together. (Note:  How to make a bias tape will be discussed in another post)

Use a free arm sewing machine (Sewing machine with a narrow working area to sew long sleeves cuff on), and sew the bias tape around the underside of the brim.  Do not sew the ends of the bias tape onto the brim but leave three to four inches free each end of the bias tape.

 

Sew the ends of the bias tape together making sure that it fits the brim of the hat well.  Turn the hat right side up and  pull the bias tape tight over the brim and sew it onto the brim of the hat using a zigzag stitch.

Tada!  This is how the finished hat look!  I added a band and a bow with embellishments.  I will discuss how to make the band and how to attach it to the hat on my other post.

After I tried the refashioned hat, I don't feel like Speedy Gonzales anymore lol!  This is the joy of refashioning ...that you get everything your way!  If you have not tried refashioning, you may want to.  It is exciting to turn something unwanted into something you love!

The Hat, Speedy Gonzales and I

Speedy Gonzales and I have something in common:  We both look even shorter and tinier wearing a wide brimmed hat!

It is very hard to find fashion items that fits well and look appropriate for one's size.  One example of this fact is hat.   Most summer hats are made for tall ladies, which is why the hat's brims are too wide for a short or petite woman.  When I try one on, I look like Speedy Gonzales lol!  Speedy Gonzales is cute but I don't want to look cute.  I want the hat to be appropriate for my size!  The solution is to refashion the hat.  My next post would be how to decrease the brim of a hat and how to refashion it so that it looks a totally different hat.

The Refashioned Hat as shown in photo below: