This has got to be one of the fastest projects I’ve ever done. And this time, I made it for myself. Well, for my daughter when she was born; however, since babies don’t know what they’re wearing, it was truly for me.
In short, the instructions go like this: cut a front and back of a hat from the bottom portion of a t-shirt and sew them together.
For those who need more details than that, here’s the tutorial.
1. Select an appropriate shirt. (This one is going to be too tight for me for longer than I care to think about.)
2. Fold shirt in half length-wise to save cutting time. If your scissors are poor, you might not be able to do this. Outline half of a bunny-rabbit head shape along the fold. The bottom hem will become the hem of your hat. You want the hem to be about 7″ wide, so 3.5″ from the fold ought to do it.
3. Cut along the line you’ve drawn and see what you’ve got. This is the front and back of your hat.
4. Pin the right sides together and sew. Perfect symmetry is not critical because you will be tying the rabbit ears into a knot.
5. After sewing, turn right side out and you are done! For a super-cute gift, make a matching pair of pants out of the sleeves of the same shirt. (Tutorial coming another day 
) And, of course, a little zig-zag stitch along the bottom would be a nice touch.
I used this weird stuffed lozenge to fit the hat before the baby came.
If you make this hat, please post to flickr with a tag for rookiemoms! We want to see your stuff.
And finally, I had the opportunity to put the hat on a real baby’s head.
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That is the greatest idea!
I’m going to have to go hunt around for some old t-shirts of mine this weekend and make one! Maybe an old maternity shirt, in fact.
I’ll post a flickr photo when I’m done.
Thanks for posting about this great hat idea on refashion files! Now I can use my ratty t-sirts with all the little holes in the belly button area! (How does that happen!?)
BTW, I’m glad you told me that the button on RF is too big! I have been working on changing it so now I really must get on that!!!
I have a nasty t-shirt I was going to cut into rags. This will be a great beginning sewing project. Thanks so much!
I wonder if this could be made with out the bunny ears too?
This is an awesome project! Thanks so much for posting it, I never would have known how to do it on my own. I’m totally hooked on making baby hats now.
Now, will you please post the tutorial on how to make pants out of the sleeves? I’m totally serious–I’m a novice at sewing and have no idea how to go about it, but would love to make some matching pairs of little stripy baby pants.
love it!! I ended up keeping the shirt flat drawing my own pattern from you dimensions and making a pattern and with that i could fit three hats out of one t-shirt!
Please post the pants pattern, i am totally interested!!!!
Cute hat!
I’m going to scrounge through hubby’s clothing for a couple of shirts to use.
Hello,
Can you give me an idea of the measurements, top to bottom, space between ears? Thanks
I made the hat! It took THREE times to get it right, but I ended up cutting up some old sleeper sacks that my son never used, and altering it a little, but it worked! I posted on flickr with a tag to this site. I hope you can view it! If not, you can go look at my blog to see the finished product! I love “do it yourself” projects with stuff I already have at home.
Thankyou so much. This is the easiest sewing project I’ve ever done, and I’m not exactly great at sewing. My 9 year old can even do it!
What a cute idea (and using material you already have!) I did a similar hat but not nearly as cute for my baby’s Halloween costume – his big bro was Buzz Lightyear and I wanted to make him one of the squeak-toy alien dolls in the movie. I’ll try to figure out how to post the photo to Flickr for all to see (and laugh my problems of execution – again, it’s not nearly as cute as this one).
-Liz
Hello, i referred your tutorial on my blog. you can see them on: http://paneamoreecreativita.blogspot.com/2009/06/come-fare-un-cappello-per-bambini-e.html
I hope you like it.
Hello, linda
Thanks for the instructions! My daughter was worried about her doll’s cold head, so I whipped up a teeny tiny hat to solve the problem!
http://paintingpinkpajamas.blogspot.com/2010/02/making-doll-clothes-quick-hat-and.html
I love this!! I’m hitting up value village tomorrow and getting a ton of old t shirts!!!
I happened to make similar hats for my boys when I ran out hats that fit them. I used my old Gap Ts – the fabric is perfect! AND my twins looked SUPER cute. So glad you shared this others. People loved the ones I made and I love how SIMPLE they are to make!
@ Claudia – I get holes in my shirts too. Any chance it can snag on a belt when you are sitting? I figured out that’s where my holes were created. LOL!
This is so great! I did a few test runs, fiddling with the shape. I can’t believe how cute my final hat turned out! I sized it for a newborn and used a soft, lightweight womens’ tee. I like to knot the ears separately. Thanks so much, this was just the inspiration I was looking for.
I found this today & made it in less than 5 minutes. Easiest baby item I’ve tried so far! I’m a novice at sewing so making this little hat gave me confidence to try more! Thanks so much!
Next up, you should totally try the easy baby pants!
I totally loved your easy tutorial. My youngest baby had a tiny little head, at least it was much smaller than my other 2 children’s heads, LOL! I had such a hard time finding hats for him. I love your idea to just make a hat to fit his little head. He actually has a big ol head now, since he’s 6! But I love this idea. It looks so easy, i think i could do it with my limited sewing skills. Thanks! I’m think I’m going to try to make one for my friends baby.