In honor of Pokemon ORAS, I present to you my new favorite hat!
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| I do not own this image of Torchic. |
Torchic is one of the
cutest most kawaii Pokemon out there. It's definitely one of my favorites from Generation III. Also, there is a 1/3 chance that every new trainer in this region will start with this 'mon. So what better way to celebrate this awesome occasion than making an awesome hat based on an awesome Pokemon?
For the base, I used the FREE pattern provided by TheCraftyGemini. There are child and adult sizes, so you can choose accordingly. In terms of fabric, TheCraftyGemini uses 2 layers of fleece. I used an outer layer of fleece and an inner layer of knit jersey. I chose to make the inner layer a jersey knit to avoid annoying static (I highly recommend this route). Go check out TheCraftyGemini's video!
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| In case anyone cares, the dimension of the plume is 3 1/4'' x 6 7/8''. Yes, at this height, my hat does reach the top of the car when I drive. |
I made the patterns for everything else. There was no specific science to this process. I just had to make sure that 1) the patterns were symmetrical and 2) the base was wide for stuffing. The small "feather" was very difficult to cut; I tried 4 times to get it right.
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| A) Top view of hat. B) Front view of hat. The sewing line for the plume and beak respectively is indicated by the red dashed lines. |
Sewing on the plume and beak was the main challenge, especially the plume. I knew that I wanted the plume to stand up. The easy method to add attachments (like ears) is to sew them right into the seam. This works best if the attachment is small. However, the plume is quite large and has more potential to flop over. So, I used pillow stuffing to give the plume depth and a base (I treated the plume like a pillow). Then, I slip stitched the base of the plume onto the top of the hat (A). It will feel like sewing in a rectangle. I could have sewn the beak into the seam. However, I wanted my Torchic to look more alive. So I sewed my beak pieces in a diamond shape (with the top extending higher). I used stuffing in the beak as well. This process worked really well for me. One thing to note is to use a generous amount of stuffing. This will give the plume strength.
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| The hat before the eyes or beak were added. As you can see on the computer, I looked at a lot of Torchic pictures. I even looked at other Torchic hats! What a HOT trend! They are on FIRE! (Okay, I'll stop.) |
In anime, eyes are really important. Eyes are a huge indication of whether a creature/person is cute/fierce/derpy. I've seen many Torchic hats out there that look really derpy because the eyes are constructed so poorly. For Torchic, the key is to make the eyes large, slightly tipped in, and correctly placed. As you can see from the above picture, I used tape to figure out the right position before using E6000 to tack them down.
To finish the ties, I cut some trapazoids; sewed the non-parallel sides together; popped the straps through the small hole; made sure I liked the length I wanted; sewed over all layers on the small side; cut the excess strap; flipped the trapezoid down. (Did you follow?)
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| I do not own this image of Torchic. |
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| Can you tell I'm really happy? |
