Mini Fleece Hat

If you're looking for very cute but easy and inexpensive ornaments for this year, you'll definitely want to give this one a try. You can whip up one of these for about 10 cents and 10 minutes of your time. They're great for tree ornaments or package decorations. And with the wide variety of prints available in fleece, you can even personalize a few with your favorite sports team logos.

For materials, you'll need...
1 - piece of fleece measuring 4" x 6"
1 - 6" length of narrow ribbon
1 - small rubberband
1 - small snowflake embellishment

Begin by stitching the edge. Fold the piece of fleece in half so that you end up with a piece that is 4" x 3". Stitch the 3" side. I used a serger but it certainly isn't necessary.

Turn the fabric right-side out. You should have a tube 4" long.

If you're wanting to make a bunch of these, cut your piece of fabric 6" wide, and the length as long as you can. Stitch the side of the whole length, then cut it into 4"-long pieces. This is a real time-saver!

Next, fold the ribbon in half and tie a knot at the end. If you're using fairly thin ribbon, you might want to double or triple the knot.

Slip the knotted end of the ribbon into one end of the tube of fleece and gather the fleece around the ribbon.

Place the rubber band tightly around the gathering of fleece, about 1" from the edge of the fabric. The knotted end of the ribbon should stay securely in place if the rubber band is tight.

Using a sharp pair of scissors, snip the end of the fleece into strips to the rubber band, being careful not to cut the rubber band or the ribbon.

Now, on the opposite end of the piece of fleece, fold back a short cuff.

Apply the decorative snowflake onto the front of the hat. Glue dots work well for this and keep the project cleanup very easy.

You can also use fabric paint and put a name on the rim of the hat to make it more personal. This is really fun if you're using the hat for a gift tag.

Leave a comment if you can think of some other fun things to do with these!