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Holmes: FreeSewing's Holmes Deerstalker Hat

About Holmes

For Sherlock Holmes cosplay or just a cute hat.

Designer Notes​

The idea of Holmes hat came from a YouTube video I was watching once, in which Bernadette Banner is making a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat, and struggles to find the right shape of the gores to form the dome shape, which ends up doing by trial and error.

As a physicist, I cannot justify solving a problem with an iterative process when there's an analytical solution, so I just calculated the shape needed, and implemented it in a Freesewing pattern, creating a plugin to calculate gore shapes.

The name was an easy choice, I just needed a name starting with H for a Sherlock Holmes hat 😃

Erica

What You Need​

To make Holmes, you will need the following:

  • Basic sewing supplies
  • About 0.5 metres (0.6 yards) of a suitable fabric (see Fabric Otions)
  • About 0.5 metres (0.6 yards) of lining fabric (see Fabric Options)
  • A rigid material for the visor insert (see Fabric Options)
  • (Optional) About 1 metre of 1" (2.5cm) crossgrain ribbon or petersham.
  • (Optional) 1 covered button about 3/4" (2cm) - 7/8" (2.2cm)
note

Depending on style the ties and buttons are optional.

  • If you are making Buttonhole Ear Flaps you can omit the ties.
  • If you are making Tie Ear Flaps you can omit the button.
  • Ties can also be made from fabric if you prefer (see Cutting Instructions)
  • You can also use different width and type ribbons for the ties if you prefer.

Fabric Options​

Main Fabric​

For the main fabric of your hat, a thick fabric will work best to hold the shape but if you wanna go for a lighter fabric you can interface it to give it more body. Generally you want to use wools of coating weight but you can experiment with different weights and fabrics with the relevant interfacing.

tip

A fun thing to try is printed cotton. Just double up the main fabric so each piece is double thickness. Then interface it with a medium firm interfacing.

Lining Fabric​

Generally you want a lightweight fabric such as Silks or Cotton Lawn but really you can make it from any fabric you deem appropriate for lining. Just remember it needs to protect the facing and the main fabric from your head.

Interfacing​

Depending on your main fabric's thickness and how well it keeps its shape you may need to interface your fabric. If you are uncertain of whether your fabric requires interfacing, quickly baste your crown pieces together and see if the crown stays up right when placed on a surface. If it doesn't it needs interfacing.

As a rule of thumb you will generally need a Medium Firm Interfacing but if your fabric is quite thin you may need a firmer interfacing. If you are still uncertain you can face your crown pieces and once again baste the crown pieces together and check how it looks on your head.

You can either use fusible or non-fusible interfacing. If using non-fusible interfacing you will want to flat line the interfacing to your pieces wih temporary pad stitches.

tip

If you are trying to make a more Historical Holmes you can use Tarlatan which is a lightweight stiffened muslin. Just make sure you use natural fibres.

Visor Insert​

For the visor insert you want a firm but thin material. You may want to try either, Millinery Buckram, Plastic Canvas, Plastic Sheets or EVA Foam. You can use Leather just know that depending on depth this may create a thicker visor and may make the visor harder to close.

note

Just remember. All of these are recommendations. If you want to use something different go for it!

Cutting Instructions​

warning

The crown pattern piece needs to be cut on the fold to create a whole piece.

Materials​

  • Main fabric
    • Cut the amount of crowns you selected in the pattern options
    • Cut 4 ear parts or Cut 2 ear from main and lining.
    • Cut 4 visor parts
  • Lining fabric
    • Cut the amount of crowns you selected in the pattern options
  • Visor Insert Material
    • Cut 2 visor inserts. Use your visor pattern piece with no seam allowance.

Optional Fabric Ties​

If you don't wish to use ribbon for your ties you can make them out of fabric.

Simply cut 4 crossgrain strips of an 1" (2.5cm) or width of your chosen seam allowances wide and sew two tubes leaving one of the short sides open for turning. Clip the corners and trim seams. Turn out an press. If desired you can Edgestitch or Topstitch the tubes to stop the fabric from shifting. The raw edge of the tubes can then be concealed in the ear flap seam when constructing the ear flaps.

note

It is recommended to draft the pattern nett and use the pattern to trace the seam lines onto fabric and add the seam allowance on the fabric rather than the pattern. This to allow for a more precise sew which is needed for a hat.

Recommended seam allowance 1/4" (6mm) on the sides of the crowns, ear flaps and outer curve of the visors. 1/2" (1.3cm) for the bottom of the crowns, ear flaps and inner curve of the visors. With these seam allowances you will not have to trim the allowances if you do not want to.

warning

It is recommended to make a mock-up with your crown pattern first before cutting your fabrics. This is to test the length and ease of the crown piece. Make sure to cut off the bottom seam allowance before trying it on. If it is too tight who will need to re-draft the pattern with more head ease just remember the ease is split across each crown.

If the peak is too high you may want to re-draft the pattern with the crown length reduced. Once re-drafted make another mock-up to check whether you are satisfied with the changes or not. Repeat again if you are not satisfied.