DIY Scrub Hat: A how to Tutorial with two different band options.

16th, July

When I’m not sewing, doing family stuff, enjoying the outdoors, etc. etc., you can sometimes find me at work. Not often, but to grease the financial wheels of our home, I work as a Recovery Nurse.

(Don't come at me for considering the financial aspect of my job, note I said job, not career, my career is being a 'stay at home' mum. There I said it, mind you I'm probably a better nurse then I am a stay-at-home mum, at least I get stuff done at work. Does that washing pile next to my bed ever leave?)

I digress...If you work in theatres you do have to cover your hair; our workplace insists that nursing staff use the provided disposable hats, so a fabric scrub hat isn’t necessary. However, the fabric hats do protect your hair from the coarseness of the non-biodegradable workplace provided hats, as well as allowing the whole contraption to stay on your head.

I was approached a couple months ago (it may have been actually longer!), by a new work colleague, asking if I could make her some scrub hats. I said sure, but it was going to be awhile, (I was being honest here, I have a sew-to-do pile a mile long), she recently approached me again, happy to put some jingle in my pocket. A couple of more weeks went by, then I'm like, oooh two birds one stone, and that my fellow crafters is how a tutorial for a DIY scrub hat was born.

A 'how to' tutorial on a super basic scrub hat, as worn by me, a recovery nurse.

The person I’m making this for has a small head. I have a large head. She has short hair; I have medium length hair. She and I can both wear this scrub hat, I have included an alternate band pattern as well, to increase the hair coverage. Once again, super basic scrub hat here and once you get the basics down, loads of variations to try.

So, if you’re keen to make one yourself, or for someone you know, heck, go for it. And if this tutorial sees you kicking off a scrub making side biz, please, the more crafters the merrier.

What you will need:

- Sewing machine - Overlocker - Scissors - Pins and/or clips - Measuring tape - Texta/pen - Paper - Ruler - 7cm of elastic (I’m using 12mm elastic) - Cotton fabric 34cm x 109cm will get you two scrub hats

I’m using a Marimekko 100% cotton, ‘Pieni Unikko’, designed by Maija Isola in 1964, from Pappa Svens, Newcastle.

Fabric choice is entirely dependent on taste, there is nothing saying that you can’t use a low or medium stretch knit fabric, I reckon it would work quite well and be comfy to boot. Quilting or light weight cotton is what I wear normally. A fabric that can hold up well with washing, as they need to be washed after every wear.

How To:

1. - Draw out a rectangle, 18cm x 23cm. This includes a 10mm seam allowance.

- Fold the rectangle into quarters, marking the center lines.

- At the top of the rectangle, on the 18cm line, mark approx. 3cm on either side of the center line.

- At the side of the rectangle, on the 23cm line, mark approx. 5cm on either side of the of the center line.

1st draft is always a bit rough.

2. Then either free hand or with a French curve ruler, your aim is to create an oval shape, with some straight-ish edges at the top (where the forehead and back of neck would be) and the side (where the side of the head/ears would be).

3. Mark the center point at both ends of the longest point of the oval.

Mark the center points of the shorter ends of the oval, this creates a ‘quartering’ effect, enabling you to attach the band of the scrub hat evenly.

4. For the band pattern, cut a rectangle 31.5cm x 13.5cm. This piece will be cut on the fold, includes 10mm seam allowance and a 2cm hem.

5. If you want to make sure that the band is going to connect the entire way round the crown of the scrub hat, you can make the band pattern piece a little longer and trim it down, it really will depend on the circumference of your crown piece.

6. Cut out your fabric.

You really don't need lots of space to sew!

7. Mark with a pin or a small snip the quarter points of the crown piece.

Use pins or small snips to mark the quarters of the crown piece.

8. Overlock the raw edge on one of the long sides of the rectangle. This will be the hemmed edge, so if you are working with a directional print ensure that the edge you are serging is the one that you want to be the hem.

9. This is now the time to make sure your long rectangle piece will fit the circumference of the crown piece. Just pin your fabric around, marking where the ends overlap, ensuring there is a 10mm seam allowance. If the piece you have cut is too small, you can add a section to make it longer.

The long edge has been serged, this will form the hem of the scrub hat.

10. Sew the short ends of the large rectangle together with a 10mm seam allowance, matching the serged edge. Overlock or zig zag the raw edge.

11. You should now have a circle shape with a serged edge. There is little difference between serging the long edge before joining the short ends together or after. Sewists choice really.

The sewn seam of the band indicates one of the quarter points, with the pins indicating the other 3.

12. On the non-serged edge of the rectangle, quarter your fabric, the same as you did with the crown piece. While this is not a necessary step, it does help to ensure that the fabric of the band is evenly distributed around the crown.

13. Fold up the serged end 2cm and press. This creates the hem of the scrub hat.

2cm hem press.

14. Once pressed fold it back down and mark with a pin 5-7cm on either side of the band piece seam line. The pins mark where the elastic will go. This of course is entirely adjustable, just by changing the elastic length or insertion point measurement.

(You could even add adjustable toggle elastic through a buttonhole if wanted, just mark a spot for a small buttonhole, add some interfacing and ensure the buttonhole is within the hem line.)

The tightness of the band can be easily adjusted in this step.

15. Pin one end the elastic where you have marked, ensuring it is located within the hem. Sew along one edge. I use a narrow, tight zig zag stitch. Attach the elastic to the next mark point and sew down this edge in the same fashion.

The small zig zag stitch attaching the elastic to the base of the band.

16. Using a straight stitch, (I lengthen mine slightly to create a nice top stitch length, sew along the long-folded edge creating a hem, ensuring the serged edge of the band is caught. Go slowly where the elastic is located, pulling the fabric taught, making sure the elastic is not caught within the sew line. (If you don’t have an overlocker, you can either do zig zag finish to the raw edge of the seam or do a fold over hem- this would also create a nice finish on the edge, you may need to add 5-10mm to the width of the band to accommodate this edge finish).

The hem sewn, before attaching to the crown, makes the project easier to work with.

17. To join the crown to the band, find the correlating quarter points, ensuring one end of the longest point of the oval is pinned within the bands seam allowance (where the elastic is located).

The pins show the concept of 'quartering' your fabric.

18. Now you can baste if you like or use lots of pins or clips. Going slow, sew the crown to the band, adjusting your fabric to ensure there are no (or minimal) puckers or fabric.

How many pins are too many?

19. Another way is to use a basting or gathering stitch 1.5cm from the edge of the crown, to ease the fabric into fitting the band. Either or, really, once again, sewists preference. And if you do get some puckers, well, you get some puckers, you can unpick, or accept the imperfect perfect scrub hat.

all the raw edges are now overlocked.

20. Lastly you need to finish this seam, I use an overlocker, but a zig zag stitch would do the same.

Now this hat fits my head, however it doesn’t quite cover all my hair. This is ok for where I work, in recovery, where we also cover our cloth hats with disposable paper ones. If you would like a bit more hair cover, it’s a simple job of adding some depth to the back of the band and curving up to the front.

1. On a fresh piece of paper drawer out a 31.5cm x 19.5cm rectangle. Mark the “cut on the fold line” marking, (this is the forehead part). On this front of the rectangle, measure down 13.5cm and mark. Drawer a straight line across the entire rectangle.

2. Measure from the center of your forehead to just behind the ear, (mine is around 16-17cm). From the “cut on the fold”, short edge of the rectangle, mark the measurement you just took, (mine being approx. 16cm).

3. On the opposite side of the rectangle, measure in 4cm, using a french ruler, or freehand, create a curve between these two points. Basically, where the back seam of the band is, this part will be longer than the front, allowing greater hair coverage.

The hair coverage is much more expansive.

Well, there you have it, a simple scrub hat DIY, done two ways.

Fabric is by Agnes Nampajimpa Brown, Puyurru Spice. From Spotlight.