Books influence Big Sister (nearly 7) quite a bit. Since we read a good number of books that take place during the 19th and early 20th centuries, she is exposed to things she would not be exposed to otherwise...like nightcaps. (Thank you Betsy-Tacy and Little House! Both books are on my list of Classic Chapter Books for Children. We even hosted a Little House birthday party.)
For a few months she had been asking for a nightcap. Have you seen one at a store recently? No!? Neither have I. So I decided that she could make one. You might remember that Big Sister had her first sewing lesson over Christmas vacation last year when she sewed a doll blanket all by herself.
This nightcap is another child-appropriate sewing project! (That link also includes some tips to help you have a successful first sewing project with a child.)
If you are looking to make a nightcap, I have some good news for you. It is super easy! Below I'll tell you how we used a pair of leggings to sew a nightcap. My six year old daughter sewed this in a few minutes after I cut the fabric.
How to Sew a Nightcap (Even a child can do it!)
This nightcap tutorial uses a pair of leggings (that had a small hole in the knee). Using the leggings made this SUPER easy! If you do not have a pair of spare leggings, you could just use knit material. Fold the material and cut a triangle after figuring out the head circumference.
- Make sure the opening of one leg will fit on the head.
- Turn pants inside out.
- Cut a triangle in the upper part of the leg keeping two layers as seen above. Better to cut too big than too small! In the photo above, you can see that I left some of the factory stitching in place. This gave the nightcap extra reinforcement.
- Sew one straight line along the length of the nightcap.
- Trim the circumference, if needed, since this will be left unstitched. Being knit material, it will roll a bit eventually. (Or at least I think it will!)
- Turn the nightcap right side out.
- Tie a small knot near the tip.
- Curl up with a classic book and go to sleep!
My daughter thought it was a bit plain. Big Sister decorated it with permanent marker with the help of our cousin Emily. We placed a piece of cardboard (cut in a triangular shape) inside the nightcap for protection, as well as more cardboard under it to protect the table.
Quite honestly, she uses it more than I anticipated. After her baths she typically wears her nightcap. (Can you tell her hair is wet?) She still loves it! If only the pioneer bonnet I made for her had this much use!
~ Annette {This Simple Mom}
I think that's adorably cute and clever. I saw this float by on FB and couldn't imagine which book it came out of but that's so cute! I love that your daughter takes note of such things. Heh! That's so fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your idea! My 7-year old daughter has been wearing it all afternoon after seeing a nightcap on Spongebob and deciding that she couldn't live without one. Your blog made her day in under 20 minutes! I put her photo on my blog and a link back to your tutorial. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Lori
Lori, you did a great job! Nothing like a quick and fun fix to put smiles on our kids' faces!
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