DIY Louise Belcher Fleece Bunny Ear Hat

My kid loves Louis Belcher from Bob's Burgers and wanted a hat like she had. There are some good tutorials out there for this hat but they weren't quite what I wanted. Most don't hug the head like hers does and I didn't like the use of wire for the ears. So I set out to make one that addresses both of these. Note that the pattern I made is actually a combination of patterns that I was able to find so I don't claim full credit for this one. This isn't the easiest way to do the ears but it was the approach I chose to do. You could always adopt the wire method instead if desired. I'm also not going to say that this is the best method to put together but is what I came up with.

The materials for this are fairly simple:

• Pink Fleece - pick the one that you like. It should have more stretch in one direction.
• Double Sided Fusible Ultra Firm Stabilizer (I used Pellon Peltex 72F) - this is only used for the ears so you don't need much.
• Thread to match the fleece
• Sewing machine
• Iron with steam function
• Washable marker
• Printer to print patterns

Pattern is in the attached PDF. It was designed to print on standard sized printer paper. There are four pages for the front, four pages for the back, and one page to cover the ears and the ends of the hat.

For the first step, after you have gathered your materials print out the pattern. Note that this pattern was designed for someone with a 21" circumference head. There is some stretch but some heads may need the size adjusted to fit. Use the alignment marks to put together the pieces and tape together. You should have a pattern for the front and the back plus the ear and hat end when done (I don't have the hat end pattern in the image but it's just a rectangle).

Take your hat patterns and lay them out on the fleece to cut out the patterns. Note that the pattern will have a note on which way the stretch should be oriented. You will notice the fleece stretches more in one direction and it should be lined up with the arrows on the pattern. You will need two pieces for each pattern, so if you fold up the fabric in two layers, then you can cut out both at the same time. Using a washable marker, trace the pattern onto the fabric. I usually trace on the part that will be the inside of the hat. Fleece will have a subtle difference in texture on either side. Decide which you want to have on the outside and draw on the opposite side. This way you don't have to wash it to remove the marks but can if needed. When you're done, you should have four pieces: two front and two back.

For the ears, you will need to cut four pieces of fleece, two for each ear. For the stabilizer, you only need to cut two, but these will need to be cut down to be the size of the ears after sewing. If using a quarter inch seam allowance, then you will need to take about 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch off from each side for it to fit. You can always cut out per pattern then trim after sewing the ears to be the correct size. Also note that there are two extra pieces. I didn't make a pattern for these (maybe I'll add them in the future) but these will be used to attach the ears to the hat and hold them up when wearing. They are like the bottom of the ear but with a big flap that extends past the ear. I included a picture of the ears so you can see the flaps (two per ear). The also help to bulk and strengthen the ear near the base but allow it to thin out towards the top.

Start by putting one piece of the front with one piece of the back and put the part that will be the outside facing each other. In the image the side that is facing outward will be flipped to be the inside. Pin together and sew along the outer edge but don't sew the v-notch at the top. I used a 1/4 inch seam allowance. You could do more for a smaller head as necessary. When finished, cut most of the seam allowance away to reduce the bulk when the hat is put together. Do the same with the other two. You should now have two full hat parts.

The ears are done the same way. Match two pieces together with the outside facing each other. Sew along the edge all the way around leaving the flat bottom open. Trim the excess fabric back then using something flip the ear inside out. I used a cooking chopstick which worked very well for this.

First, you want to trim your stabilizer to match the size of the inside of the ear. This will allow it to fit properly. Here's the tricky part. The stabilizer is very rough and grabs onto the fleece with little effort. You might be able to position it before flipping the ear then flip the ear around it, but I didn't try that. What I ended up doing was using parchment paper to fold around it then used the paper to get the stabilizer into the ear and then remove the paper. Took a few tries but eventually it worked. You only need the one full size stabilizer for each ear. After you get that in, you will want to take two of the smaller pieces you cut (no pattern for them, just do what looks right) and feed them in with one on each side of the stabilizer. They should only extend into the ear about 2 inches and have a somewhat wide base. Use the image as a guild. You should have two ears ready to go at this point.

On each hat part, pull the two stitched sides together at the V so that you close up the gap making a seam that is at a right angle to the original seam. Sew this together and cut the excess away. Each hat part should be closed in now. Turn one of them inside out.

Place the hat parts together so the seams are facing away from each other. The "inside" of the hat will be on the outside at this point. Sew along the front, ear flaps, and only part of the back side. You will want to leave the ends of the ear flaps open and you want to leave a large opening in the back for working with the ears. I added two pins to show where I stopped sewing. Trim the excess material away after sewing.

I'm not sure what the original is suppose to be, but I just made smaller tubes of fleece for the ends. You can use cord or something else if desired, but since I already had plenty of fleece, I made them with the same material as the hat. Take the two rectangles and fold in half then sew along two connected edges to make a tube. Trim the excess then using something like a chop stick flip the fabric inside out so the seam is now inside. To install into the hat, place the sewn end into the end of the hat flaps and push in till the end of the tube is even with the end of the flap. Sew across this to lock the part in the hat. When you flip the hat inside out later, it'll be exposed at that time.

One method that I came up with to give the ears more support as well as giving them a more "ear" like appearance was to stitch the base together. I did this with just needle and thread and did it close to the base where it should meet the hat surface. I made sure to do several passes since this will be under constant tension. The effect worked rather well!

Cut two small slits in the hat just behind the seam (on the back side of the hat) that are big enough to push the ear through in a rounded state. The smaller these holes are the easier it'll be to sew shut and not be seen. Push each ear in making sure the front of the ear faces the front of the hat. Position so the base is even with the slit in the hat. Stich all the way around each ear to close up the hole and attach the ears. At this point, you should just have the stabilizer flaps sticking out.

This is where it gets a bit difficult to maneuver in. You will now take the flaps from each ear and fold downward. Make sure there is even tension on both sides to help the ear stay upright then fuse the stabilizer in place to the outside layer only (part that the ears are attached to) following the manufacturer's instructions. When you're done, both flaps should be fused only to the outside layer. This job is easier if you left a large opening in the back to work with.

With the ears fused and sewn into place, it's time to finish up the hat. Flip the hat so the outside part is now facing out. You will need to use a chop stick or something similar to push the flaps out. The back opening can be sewn together using a ladder stitch to hide the seam better. You now have a completed hat! Hopefully the fit was tested before getting to this point and you'll make someone very happy!