Cousin Eddie

Back in May, I think, I bought the Spring 2010 issue of Stitch magazine.  I got it right after my first LAMQG meeting, which totally kick-started my obsession with sewing.  That magazine was full of so many cool projects to do, but I just now got around to doing one.

Tomorrow, we're going to Yosemite National Park, so we can say we've been there in the winter.  Since this is our last "winter" in California, our time is running out, so we made kind of last-minute arrangements to go.  It's cold in Yosemite right now, and, well, we're Southerners who are currently living in Los Angeles, which means we have NO cold-weather clothes for the girls.  We have our own, and we have some for newborns (Kendall was born in Ohio in December), but that's it.

So I remembered this one project from the magazine that I wanted to do - the Flight Cap, which was contributed by Betz White.  However, Grant and I refer to it as the Cousin Eddie hat.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then shame on you!

Okay, let me just say that I'm sure this pattern was written great.  BUT, I'm not usually a pattern-follower.  So I struggled a bit.  Whiled doing this, I realized that I'm very much a photo tutorial follwer - I need a picture of every.single.step to help me understand what I'm doing.  I even went so far as to emailing Betz, because I just got so stuck on this one step.  By the way, she responded so quickly and answered my question so gracefully (because it really was a stupid question), I was very impressed and appreciative!  I still struggled. 

But they're pretty cute, if I do say so myself! 

Here's Cami's...

And Kendall's...

And the two of them together, with Cami trying to take hers off...

A decent one of both girls...



I would equate making these hats with child birth...the end product is so cute that you kind of forget about how hard it was to actually get to that point!  Seeing them together with their Cousin Eddie hats makes me want to make more!  And I'm not saying I won't make more down the road, but it just won't be anytime soon.

I did make a few adjustments to the pattern, though.  The pattern calls for using a sherpa, terry, or velour for the lining, but I really wanted to use these two prints, so I used a fusible batting with just regular cotton fabric.  Also, the pattern has these little elastic loops on each ear flap, and a button on top so that you can flip the flaps up.  I left that out mainly for time...when I started making Kendall's, I didn't have any elastic, and didn't want to wait until I could get some to make them.  I was on a serious deadline for these, so I just decided to leave that out.  I'll probably regret that decision later, but it's okay.

All I can say about this pattern is that it is not for the beginner sewer.  There's a lot of sewing of curves, which takes some time if you're not used to it.  That part actually really scared me, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Also, since I mainly do quilts, this kind of a project was really a brain teaser for me...mainly the putting-it-together part.  That literally gave me a headache!  But, the main reason for the headache, was because I chose to use to prints that I wanted to line up or face a certain way.  So having to figure out how to put it together really hurt my brain.  If I had used a print that didn't need to be lined up, or if I had used what the pattern called for for the lining, I don't think it would've been nearly as difficult. 

Imagine that, I made something harder than it need to be!