Another shower cap

The shower cap I made about 18 months ago has run its course - a new one was required and luckily for me I found a fabric I really liked to make a new one last weekend.

This is how it turned out. Tigger didn't oblige with a photo shoot like last time, so here is the shower cap sitting on the lavender bush!

I did attach the elastic using a different technique  than I used for the last few caps I made. I marked the elastic (19" for my head) and circle of the shower cap into eighths. Then I basted around the perimeter of the fabric circle once, and then again next to the first basted circle around the perimeter. Then I gathered the fabric using the basted stitches (pulling up one set of loose threads to gather half way in one direction & then did the same with the other 2 loose threads to gather in the other direction until the cap pretty much fitted my head. Only then did I attach the elastic using a zig zag stitch (next time use a wider zig zag stitch and/or make sure to keep to the right side of the elastic so that it isn't visible when wearing the cap).
Worked much better.

Shower cap

The last showercap I made sure lasted longer than those flimsy ones you get free in hotel rooms.

I'm not sure that too many people still use showercaps, but if you do, then this is a pretty easy project to complete...not quite so easy to get a shot of someone wearing it at the end though!
OneLittleImp wasn't playing the game to wear it for a photoshoot, so I had to get creative. Thanks Tigger!

Quick How To:

Make a circle template with newspaper, pencil & string - my cap is 19"in diametre. If you want more frilly-ness then use a bigger circle to start with.

Use the template to cut 1 circle from fabric & one circle from a waterproof layer. I bought a cheap plastic table cloth from a $2 store a while back that I use for waterproofing different projects.

Place the waterproof layer and fabric right sides together & straight stitch all the way around the edge with a 1/4" seam, leaving enough opening to turn right side out.

Trim excess & clip seams before turning right side out.

Use your fingers to roll edge flat as much as possible while you top stitch all the way around using a 1/4" seam to hold the fabric & waterproof layers together at the edge. Change the colours of your top/bobbin thread if needed to match the colours of the fabric & waterproof layers.

Fold the circle into quarters & mark each quarter fold at the edge. This will be used to help with the gathering when you add in the elastic.

Use your own head to measure how much elastic you need - Cut this amount with about 1" extra added. Fold the elastic into quarters as well & mark each quarter fold.

Next, pin the start of your elastic (leaving the extra 1" tail that you will overlap at the end) to one of the quarter marks on the shower cap and then match up the next quarter lines on the shower cap & elastic before pinning these points together.

Back to the sewing machine. Change thread colours again if you need to.
Using about a 1/2-3/4" seam allowance, you now sew the elastic to the fabric. To create the gathers, pull the elastic as you sew with a multipoint zigzag to secure. Once you reach the first quarter mark, match up the next quarter of the shower cap & elastic & repeat. This will form your gathers.

Here are the gathers forming. Once you are all the way around you are all done. How simple is that?!?

...And then she finally let me take a picture!