Fancy hats and fascinators are definitely reviving thanks to the gorgeous Katie Middleton. As can be seen by my Pinterest board I am a complete fan of the fashion! I decided that my St. Patrick’s Day outfit needed some pizzaz, thus it was a good time to make my very first hat. After doing some quick research I decided to go with a method I’d seen in a Thread Banger video tutorial several years ago.
Because this was a last minuted idea, a project of passion, I headed to my local craft store and picked up some 100% polyester felt. I’d like to try a natural fiber felt for a fancier hat sometime but I didn’t want to take the time to do so for this project. The hat pattern uses a 12X22″ piece of fabric folded in half, but the felt I purchased came on a 76″ wide bolt so I had plenty for mistakes. (Anyone else want a hat? I have extra!)
The first attempt was a learning process. The felt doesn’t keep its shape very well. As a result the hat shape at the end wasn’t what I wished. Also, I thought that the side band was too short once I finished it off with the bias tape.
For my second hat I made a few adjustments to address the challenges of the first hat. First I added 1/2″ to the side band. Then, to minimize stretch, I cut some light interfacing for both pieces To further prevent distortion, I measured the base table carefully to match the original size of the band.
After the success of my second hat, I went for fancier style. This will definitely not be my last pillbox hats as I love them both! Next time, however, I think I’ll play around with the pattern a bit. 
A Wistful Stitch 