Day 9 Challenge: Drawstring Hat

Awhile back my grandma gave me this cool book by Eugenia Kim, "Startuday Night Hat."  I loved the hats, but the drawstring hat was always my favorite because it was so versatile (and floppy hats seem to work best with my curly hair, no matter the length).  I never put the book to proper use because--even though I have some basic sewing skills--sewing really intimidates me DX

When I studied abroad in Florence, Italy I took a soft sculpture class and the work I came up with proved that I COULD sew if I put my mind to it.  There's just something about sewing that makes me super anxious.

For this project, though, I figured the pattern was simple enough that I couldn't eff up too badly.

I decided to use the scrap fabric I kept from my screenprinting practice runs in Florence.  It seemed appropriate to bring Italy into this project since it was the last time I seriously sewed anything.  Plus, the constant reminder that I can do this because I have done it was a nice little motivator to get the project done.

I followed the pattern pretty accurately, only making a few changes to the height of the body of the hat so I wouldn't have to chop up my phoenix (that way if I ended up hating the hat I could take it apart and not lose my artwork).

I still think the fabric may not have been the right choice.  Even though it was lightweight, it didn't quite fall right when I was done.  On top of that I couldn't find any stores nearby that sold ribbons so the hat is temporarily held together with shoelaces--which would be pretty cool if the design was more edgy and urban...but it doesn't go very well with the phoenix design.  It'll have to be replaced once I get the proper materials.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I succeeded in that I followed through the pattern well and my sewing was not too shabby.  In retrospect, however, I feel like I should have chosen a fabric with a smaller repetitive pattern--the big phoenix is kind of difficult to see with the hat on.  Or I would have done it in a bright bold colour--the canvas colour kind of makes me think of a chef's hat lol.  I think I was also a bit disappointed that my hair is currently too short to try out all the suggestion styles Kim drew in her book.

Maybe as my hair grows my like for the hat will grow too :)