Victorian Sunbonnet by Sarah Jane

Like I mentioned in my last post, I came across Sarah Jane's Victorian Sunbonnet on Pinterest.  I wanted to try making it, but didn't see any instructions. . . until I looked deeper and saw she actually had a tutorial!  I was tickled; however, it was only in an adult size.  I also wanted to be able to print it, so not only did I convert her 4 tutorials to a pdf to print, I added some additional sizes here.  She thought it was great to share it. (The colors in the pdf are a little weird---probably due to a few conversions I had to go thru to get it on here).

To shrink it down, I found a post at idrawdigital which describes how our proportions change as we grow.

Did you know that the height of your head increases by 3 inches from the time you are an infant to the time you are an adult?  So, using head height with an adult size as 100%, a 1 year old is 67% his full size.  By the time he is 10 years old, he is 83% his full size.  I wish I could have found head circumference stats to also compare, but couldn't.

So, I reduced Sarah Jane's pattern to 90%, 80%, and 70%.  I thought 70% would range from ages 1-3, but it may be more of a 1-2 size.  I was hoping the 80% size would fit ages 5-10, and 90% would fit ages 10-15, but since I haven't actually made them, and the bonnet turned out smaller than I expected, I'm not sure. However, I'll provide you with the reductions anyway.  The measurements reflect the pattern pieces in their folded state.  You will need Sarah Jane's tutorial to complete this pattern.

Here are the pieces cut and unfolded.  

I should have used self bias tape on the inside so it would be more discreet, but store-bought bias tape sure was convenient.  I could have put a tie in the back like I did in Liz's slat bonnet pattern, but decided with this one to put an adjustable string in the inside.  I also cheated and used heavy interfacing, rather than batting. I did, however, quilt it, but you can't tell in the pictures.  When I make another, I'll finish the raw edge of my brim the same way as in my bonnet tutorial on here.  I don't know if it's period correct, but it sure looks nicer than whip stitched raw edges.

I'm really, really impressed with these last projects.  My work has improved so much over the years.  Today I looked at this bonnet and thought, did I really just make that??

***If you need the PDF, leave me a comment and I can send it to you directly.***