Make a hat uniquely yours by customizing it using embellishments like pins, patches, feathers, bands, pompoms or flowers. I upcycled a pair of baggy men’s jeans from 2007 into a hat. The pants had a back pocket with elaborate signature embroidery of the brand “Mecca”. I incorporated this into one of the fabric panels of a newsboy cap. To emphasize the graphic, I sewed multiple rows of topstitching with a similarly coloured thread to simulate a hat band.
In another upcycled denim hat, I used yellow ochre topstitching thread along the seams joining the fabric panels. This colour of heavy-duty thread is traditionally seen in blue or dark navy ready-to-wear jeans. My customer selected a vintage button with gargoyles and fleur-de-lis to top off the hat.
The simple brown bucket is decorated with a layered felt flower and leaf accent that I found in a small shop in Lisbon. The hat is sewn with a weather-resistant twill fabric and lined with a patterned green and gold cotton.
These are my own favourite denim hats. The patchwork quilt baseball cap made by the artisans of “Walk on the Wild Side” is one I purchased at Jing Jai Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The other was handmade by me of “Hats by Tracy J”. Both feature patches and pins that connect me to the place I come from.
Hats by Tracy J 