How to make a plush hat

1. Materials & tools

Materials (one outfit for a 20 cm plush)

• Main fabric (light cotton or denim) — about 20 × 32 cm
• Heavyweight fusible interfacing — about 8 × 5 cm
• Fine hat elastic — about 12 cm
• Size 9 needle and fine thread

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Fandom” → “Plush hat” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter the chest, length and the rest. Presets cover 10, 15 and 20 cm plushies and a 27 cm doll.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Measure the plush
   Chest at its widest, and the length you want from the shoulder. Two plushies both sold as "20 cm" can be quite different, so measure yours.
2. Trace the pattern
   Lay the pattern on the wrong side and trace both lines. At this scale a fine chalk pencil works better than a marker.
3. Cut the pieces
   If the fabric frays, seal the edges or zigzag them straight away.
4. Transfer the notches
   The smaller the garment, the more the notches matter. Do not skip them.

4. Sewing

4-1. Build the crown

1. Place two panels right sides together and sew one curved edge. Make two pairs.
2. Join the pairs to make a ring.
3. All four meet at the top — the fabric piles up, so go slowly.

4-2. Make the brim

1. Fuse interfacing to the brim's outer piece.
2. Place outer and lining right sides together and sew the outer curve.
3. Clip, turn and topstitch round the edge.

4-3. Attach the brim

1. Match the crown's center front to the middle of the brim.
2. Sew the brim to the lower edge of the crown, right sides together.
3. The brim covers only the front half.

4-4. Finish the edge and add elastic

1. Turn the crown's lower edge under 5 mm and stitch all round.
2. Stitch the hat elastic inside, at each side.
3. Try it on and adjust the length.

✏️ Fuse interfacing into the brim. At this size the fabric alone flops and it stops looking like a hat. One layer of heavyweight interfacing changes how it sits completely.

5. Tips & variations

• Elastic keeps it on: plush heads are slippery and a hat without elastic falls straight off.
• Four panels is enough: six at this size is all seam and no crown.
• Add a small patch: one on the front lifts it.
• Seam allowance is 5 mm: at 1 cm the allowances collide and the garment will not turn out cleanly.
• Size 9 needle, fine thread: a heavy needle leaves holes in the fabric.
• Mock it up in paper: assembling it once in interfacing or copy paper shows up any problem with length or ease.