DIY Beanie Upgrades

Logically, I know that it’s really not that cold in California. Heck, 44 degrees doesn’t even sound that cold – not when I’ve got friends in actually cold places like Minnesota, Cleveland, and Chicago braving ridiculously low temperatures just to get to work. However, my house was built over a hundred years ago and I can see my breath inside, and that is plenty cold for me.

In order to keep the feeling in my fingers and toes, I’ve been layering up like a madwoman: double socks, thermal underwear, giant hooded sweatshirts, fingerless gloves and of course, beanies. I have a nice variety of beanies – mostly because when I buy the standard black knit beanies, they tend to wind up in the hands of roommates or boyfriends. If you need to personalize your beanie, cover up or patch a hole, or just give an old beanie some love, here are some great upgrade options:

Studs: This is an easy place to start, because all you need to do to adhere studs to fabric is to fold down the hook edges. Studs are also nice because they come in a variety of shapes from flat to pyramid. Alternatively….

Spikes: Yep. Much like studs, you can spike up your beanie and make it super punk rawk by screwing some spikes into the sides. The downside here is that heavier spikes will need to be anchored by some thicker fabric (vinyl, leather) or they’ll tend to sag. Not to worry – just sew a strip of fabric down first for reinforcement then screw in the spikes.

Rhinestones: This is one of my favorite options, since it looks really glam and lovely for winter. All you need to do is glue rhinestones (or sequins) in a pattern onto the beanie. Although you may be able to get away with using fabric glue, a glue gun works best here. It’s best to plot out where your rhinestones will go first, either in a group or spread out along the edges.

Veils: This is another super simple runway inspired option. All you need to do is line up your netting over your beanie, and sew in place with some embroidery thread. To measure the netting, lay your beanie in the middle and trim to the desired length. Then secure the sides of netting along the bottom (lining up with seams or creases when possible). You should only need a few stiches to anchor the netting, it’s best if you can move and adjust the veil.

Faces: In addition to using fabric glue and felt shapes to make an adorable owl head beanie, you also have the option to sew on some pom poms to make a panda beanie.

Iron-on Patches: …You don’t really need instructions for this one, right? Just know that in addition to any band patches you have, varsity letters also work really well here.

Other options include feathers, chain, or charms. And if you don’t have a beanie you’d like to upgrade, you can make one from an old sweater by following this tutorial here. It’s as easy as cutting out a 4D beanie shape, then sewing it together in a corner at the top.

Images courtesy FortheLoveOf.net, blog.mijtrim.com, theBijouxEditrix.blogspot.com, and apair-andaspare.blogspot.com