Thursday, October 14, 2010

pretend and play restaurant set: child's chef hat tutorial

Alright . . . let's get the pretend and play restaurant set started.  First up . . . the chef's hat. 

This idea is modeled after a chef's hat that my oldest brought home from preschool last year.  (Her teachers did some super cute and creative crafts with them on a daily basis.)  It was made out of cardstock, tissue paper and stick on hook and loop.  She loved it, and it was assembled in much the same way this one is but using staples, tape and glue rather than a sewing machine.  It lasted about a week. I'm hoping this one lasts a bit longer. 

At first I imagined the solid brown part of the hat a bit taller, and the top of the hat a bit puffier.  However, when I started working on it, I realized that I wanted it to fit snugly on the head and not be hard to keep on.  This is my best attempt at that.  ;)  Assembly of this hat is a lot like making a easy skirt without adding a zipper. 

The chef's hat can easily be done in an hour (or way less if you are actually good at sewing) . . . an uninterrupted hour.  If you have a Peanut and a Monkey running around, the time will depend on how many glasses of water are spilled, how many fights are started, and how many times your newly potty-trained two year old needs to go potty.  

Child's Chef Hat
for personal, non-commercial use only


Here's what you need*:
1 - circle that is 20 inches across
1 - 7 1/2 by 24 inch strip of contrasting fabric
1 - 7 1/2 by 24 inch strip of fusible fleece
1 - 2 inch strip of hook and loop
*The measurements for this hat fit my five year old and two year old girls.

Here's what you do:
1)  Iron fusible fleece to strip of fabric.  (You could probably use medium-weight fusible interfacing for this as well, but I've never used fusible fleece.  I saw some at the store and couldn't resist giving it a try.  I'm such a dork!)

2)  Cut 4 inch slit in circle from edge of circle toward center with pinking shears.  Fold in each side of slit about 1/4 of an inch, iron and sew with zigzag stitch. 

3)  Sew a long running stitch around circle close to edge do not back stitch at beginning or end. 

4)  Using the disappearing ink pen, mark around the circle in four evenly spaced segments so that your circle is divided into quarters.  The spot directly opposite the slight opening, should serve as one mark and the slight opening as another.  The other two marks should be made directly between these two points on the outer edge of the circle.

5)  After quarter marks are made, pull gently on one of the thread from the long running stitch to slightly gather the circle.  Set aside.
  
6)  Fold long rectangle in half right sides together so that you have a 3 1/4 x 24 inch strip.  Sew the two short ends.  Turn right sides out.  (If you want you can top stitch around two short sides and the long side opposite the long open side.  I didn't . . . have I mentioned before that I'm lazy?)  Pin and trim the long open edge with pinking shears. 

7)  Now you are going to make quarter marks on this long strip.  Lay out on cutting mat or use long measuring tape to make three evenly space marks along strip . . . this will divide the strip into four sections. 

8)  Put right side of circle and right side of long strip together by matching up markings and pin at the place where each quarter-mark joins.  Now go between each quarter mark that is pinned and pin half way between these points.  Now go around and pin the entire circle to the long strip.  Basically, you are just trying to pin the circle evenly around the strip.  If you can do that without all these quarter marks, go for it! 

9)  Zigzag stitch as close to joined edges as possible.  Then do a straight stitch slightly above the zigzag stitch.

10)  Using white thread sew one side of hook and loop to top of hat rim.  Using thread to match hat rim, sew on the other side of hook and loop to inside of hat rim.  This should make the hat slightly adjustable.  It fits both girls, and my two year old's head is slightly smaller than my five year old's head.

Done and ready to cook up a storm! 

And every chef needs a good apron.  

Craft on!

Check out the great parties I may link to by clicking on the blog name below or visiting my "I like to party" page that shows off all the party buttons.  These gals go to a lot of work to host these parties.  If you participate in parties please take time to look through a variety of the projects linked up.  They are a great source of inspiration!

Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and DreamingBe Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime

Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For WomenIt's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do, Polly Want a Crafter

Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!,

Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket DesignTrendy Treehouse, Tea Rose HomeSomeday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting

Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales

Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic

22 comments:

Jocelyn Christensen said...

Seriously? Adorable!

Unknown said...

I love it! How did you like the fusible fleece? I used it on my diaper bag and kind of loved it...

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

Stop it! You should go work for one of those expensive toy designers. Seriously this is so cute. I love the hat - especially that it's adjustable.
I wonder if it would be weird to make a big one for me . . . haha.

Tanya said...

I made a bunch of mini chef hats as gifts last Christmas...they were a total hit! The 'pattern' was from Michael Miller, and it was similar to yours except the top was pleated rather than gathered. Super fast and super fun. See my version @ http://sewmanydreams.blogspot.com/2009/06/cuz-my-little-man-loves-kitchen.html

ificould said...

WOW!! That is adorable! I'm seriously impressed.
missy

Sarah@sweetpeaandjojo.blogspot.com said...

Fun! A family friend of ours just started culinary school to become a pastry chef & keeps stopping by in his chef's gear. The kids want cool gear too, so this may have to hit our Christmas list!!

Anonymous said...

Adorable! Would like to invite you to link up to Fantabulous Friday!
Joy
Mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com

~Katey~ said...

New follower here. I'm going to be doing a homemade Christmas for my girls and husband and I LOVE your blog and Know I'm going to be back and do this and the doll ones :) Thanks so much for posting them.

Susan-Chasing Marcus said...

Elizabeth, What type of material is the brown? It is not just your basic quilters cotton is it? I love how inhibited you are about using different types of fabrics all mixed together. Maybe it is that I was a quilter first, but I can't seem to get past cotton and cotton. I am getting really fancy if I use minky on one side. Mix in Denim and oh my goodness I am not sure what I would do!
This is so amazing and my daughter saw it this morning and asked for one. I suppose I will add it to the list!

kim west said...

tell me if that cute fabric is from walmart...I bought the coordinating fabric to make a levi apron out of...too funny! I sat there trying to justify buying all of it...so darn adorable. love that little chefs hat.

Mallard Cove Mommy said...

Thanks for linking this up...I'm making dress up clothes for Christmas and a Chef's hat is a must!

Sharon Cohen said...

This would be the perfect gift for all of my grandkids (all seven under the age of 8)! I was going to send the older ones the mixes in a jar - and these chef hats would make the perfect addition! Following and bookmarking your site. You've warmed up my creative juices.

I'm visiting from the Santa's Gift Shoppe Monday Blog Hop! Get a free copy of my Christmas ebook (Jesus Does Not Care and Other Christmas Stories) when you stop by. I'm #75 Donating to Charity This Season?

Janet said...

How adorable! I love the prints you chose. :)

McPherson family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

ah that is super, super cute! LOVE it!

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

Cute! We have a chef hat in the dress-up clothes at prechool, the kids love it. Thanks for sharing!

Katie said...

It's so good to encourage our kiddos to play pretend! What a cute way to do it!

Sachiko said...

This is soooo cute! I want to make some for my kids! Thank you for the great tutorial.

Sweet Craft Cakes said...

Good Work..Super cute!!

Susan-Chasing Marcus said...

Sophie and I made a Chef's Hat last week from your pattern and it turned out super cute. Thanks for sharing your talents with us!

http://chasingmarcus.blogspot.com/2010/10/chef-sophie.html

Cowboy Shirts said...

Good informative blog on chef hat preparation. I loved this blog. Thanks for sharing great information with us.

elenasworld said...

Thank you so much for your inspiration and your instructions. I have been trying for weeks to make my daughter a chef hat and yours is the first tutorial I could follow. Your instructions are great and the photos are so helpful. My daughter loves her hat -- and now I can make 9 more for her gingerbread house decorating party next weekend. Thanks again for sharing!

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