I made four cycling caps yesterday. Now the thing about cycling caps is that they are kind of goofy. Very goofy, actually. The kind of goofy that only cyclists can appreciate, and if a cyclist is far gone enough, might even find attractive. They're essentially a beanie with a short bill which can be flipped up or down. Up is silliest, of course. However, if you are inclined to kiss another cyclist, it's most convenient if you both flip your brims up and out of the way.
The brims protrude much less far than those of baseball caps, the whole hat fits more snugly, and they tend to come in the jolly, eye-catching colors that cyclists seem to be so drawn to. They're also lighter weight and more flexible than a baseball hat, which is important considering they're likely to end up rolled up and crammed in a jersey pocket or seat bag sooner or later.
Anyhow, in the following photos, you can see what I have made so far. The first cap didn't turn out so well…something is the matter with the brim and it wants to sit higher on one side than the other and dip down oddly in the middle. Subsequent caps turned out much better.
Excuse the presence of my unfortunately acne-riddled and generally homely mug in all of these damn photos. I'd hire a more photogenic model if I could…or at least sub in a styrofoam wig stand or a wooden hat block, if such things I could find. More photos of the hat project can be found here.
They're still a work in development. I need to come up with a good seam binding to go around the inside of the cap, and I have just today envisioned a slightly different brim pattern that should sit nicer and flip up better. I think the current brim design is a little too long, too. I'm wanting to create a pattern for an ear/neck flap, too. I've got two different ideas…one that is like a band that can fold down over the ears and back of the neck, and I may do something silly with ear-flaps like on Elmer Fudd's hat. We shall see.
The rows of topstitching around the brim that I did on the last hat I made last night will be featured on all subsequent hats. It looks nicer, improves the stiffness of the brim, and certainly won't hurt for durability. These hats I made out of scrap fabric and some pieces of plaid wool left over from some shirts I modified for my grandpa. Grandpa likes wool flannel shirts, but doesn't like long sleeves…they get in the way when he is working, and he doesn't like rolling them up, as they become bulky. So, he had me cut off and hem a bunch of his shirt sleeves so that the shirts would better suit his tastes and needs. It was good fabric, and I figured I'd find a use for it sometime, and indeed I have. I think I am going to look for more wool flannel shirts at the thrift shops, as it is perfect weight for winter cycling caps. It can make some very attractive two-tones, too. I'm especially happy about the light-blue and grey one.
nice hats, we do similar stuff out of columbus, ohio. check out our site.
http://www.octopusincorporated.com
Thanks for the link, Trenton!
I’ve since made some other hats that actually turned out better. I ought to do a follow-up post sometime. I’ll send you a heads-up when I do, so you can see the really fun stuff I did with colors and prints.