Little Chief

     A few weeks ago, as I was looking through my scrap pile I suddenly realized that I'm always refashioning things for the girls, but I never really make anything for James.  Overcome with remorse, I asked "What would you like me to make for you, Little Man?"  His prompt answer was, "An Indian hat."
      Having no feathers handy, that project had to be postponed for awhile.  But every time I have used the machine since then, James has come running to ask "Are you making my Indian hat?"
     Well, last week I finally made it to the fabric store, and found, not only some feathers, but a perfect piece of material in the "remnants" bin.  So this weekend we turned Little Man into Little Chief.

It was a really simple project; it only took about 30 minutes, once I finally sat down to it.  James was intimately involved in the process while his sisters were napping.  Here's a few detail photos in case you want to try it...

Just cut 2 rectangles of knit or felt (so it won't fray) fabric, place them right sides together, hold them up to your own little Indian, tip your head to one side (helps with estimating) and sew up some shoulder seams and side seams, leaving holes for the head and arms.  I made mine come down to past his knees, planning to add some tucks for "growing room".  Cut a slit down the front, and keep cutting until it will fit over the head.

 wrong side

Once your model is wearing it, mark the base of their neck, and then cut a gentle curve from seam to seam, so it will lay nicely.  I would recommend taking it OFF the child before cutting.  It helps to fold the shirt in half too, to achieve symmetry.

Now, to finish the bottom - I decided to leave it extra long and add 3 tucks, which can be let out as he grows.  I simply drew 3 lines 3" from the bottom, and 3" apart, folded the fabric along those lines, and ran a line of stitching 3/4" from the fold.  Also, the fabric I found had this great fringe already cut along the bottom, but you can cut your own fringe if you don't have such cool fabric.


For the head band I just used another 1 1/2" strip of fabric, wrapped it around his head and added a little piece of elastic in the back so it would stay in place a little better.  After he put all the feathers where he wanted them, I ran them through the sewing machine to attach them securely.  Glue would probably work just fine too.

We originally cut another strip for the "belt", but if he tied it in a knot he couldn't get it off himself, and if he didn't, it wouldn't stay on.  So we found a belt in his drawer that works just fine.  It's now the official "Indian belt".

And there you go - one very happy little boy!

Just a side note on something I discovered while making this -  Is it really bad that my son's headband has to be bigger around than his belt?  Or is that normal for an almost-five-year-old?