*** This pattern is now also available as a kit! The kit includes everything you need to make any of the options for pockets in the pattern, and an assortment of fabrics and colors. Check them out on the “Accessories” page!***
Edited: Now, with photos!
The first batch are courtesy of Lovely Bicycle!‘s photostream:
Size Small, large brim, with earflaps, wool coating.
Size medium, summer weight, no earflaps, quilting cotton.
Size large, earflaps, small brim, polar fleece and nylon ripstop.
Size large, earflaps, large brim with plastic stiffener, fleece.
And a few more, including a little of the process:
Winter and summer, both with the large brim option..
Binder clips are a handy alternative to pins that don’t distort the fabric as much and work much better with thick materials.
Earflap piece, turned and topstitched.
Finishing the inside seam allowance by trimming and zig-zagging.
Finishing the inside seam allowance by topstitching each side flat.
There’s an x-wing on my hat!.
Small brim option.
I saw this material at the store and had to buy it.
A childhood obsession.
As we get into the holiday shopping spree season, I thought it would be nice to offer a sewing pattern for a great gift you can make yourself. This cycling cap pattern offers four sizes, two different brim choices, and optional ear flaps, and works great in all different materials from light, summery cotton to warm wool and fleece. It’s quick and simple, and the end result is something any cyclist can use more of!
You can also try making it out of old or discarded cycling jerseys or jackets, sheets, shirts, t-shirts, pants, shrunken lightweight sweaters, etc. No stampeding into the mall, since you might not even need to buy anything to make it!
The hat is designed to lie flat with minimal bulk under a helmet, with optional wrap-around ear flaps that are thicker and warmer.
The pattern has two brim options: the larger one is closer in size and shape to that of a baseball cap, the smaller one is more like a typical cycling cap’s brim.
This pattern is available here for free for your own personal use, but if you like it, please consider making a donation to the League of American Bicyclists.
If you have questions, put them in the comments to this post so that other people can see them too. Happy sewing!
Pattern files and instructions, in PDF:
Dill_Pickle_Cycling_Cap - instructions
Pattern pieces in JPEG format, in case the PDFs don’t work for you for some reason:
Having trouble downloading the instructions. Can you help??
i cant open instruction file. can someone help me, i need to try this pattern for me to make for my husband. Thank you
thank you for sharing this would love to try but cannot get the instruction page to open. Im very new to sewing so I need these more that the average person.
thanks a lot for your generosity.
Thank you kindly for the above patterns.
It’s my second attempt trying out a cap my first with this style will let you know how it goes!!!
Just came here to say thank you!
Hey, thanks a lot for sharing this pattern, im struggling a little bit since im not a native english speaker but the pattern its pretty self explanatory, agaijn, thanks a lot.
saw you in Bicycling magazine!!
Hi, thank you for the pattern. I would really like to make one of these however I have a dilemma in choosing the right size. Do you by any chance have some head measurement for each size? Head circumference would do.
Thank you in advance and hope the cycling spring will be here soon..
A video tutorial how to sew this together would be awesome!
In this case, I wanted to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible. Another way to make the hat more rounded would be to separate the center panel in half and make each of the two halves slightly curved. But any solutions like this would work best if you redrafted the whole “head” part of the pattern.
Nevermind!
Hello! Thanks for these patterns. I’m an absolute newb at sewing but will be trying this pattern this weekend. I think the link for the instructions is broken….help!
Have you considered creating some cuts and folds along the side panels? It’d help the boxy look of the hat from the front view.
Could you post some pictures of the hat band and elastic on the inside. If possible both pre and post assembly but I mostly need the assembled version. I am not really experienced in sewing patterns so I just want to clarify that what I am doing is 100% accurate. Thanks for the pattern and help!
Sorry for the slow reply! Did you cut the center panel with one end on the fold of the fabric? It should be twice the length of the pattern piece (the full length would not fit on a letter-sized piece of paper). In general, I’d suggest that you lengthen the center piece. You can always trim around the hat later if you decide you want it to be shallower. Hope that helps, belated though it is!
Hi. First, thank you for the pattern. Second, I started making the XL, but the top piece came up way short. I double checked my cutting, and I cut the pieces according to the pattern. Should I lengthen the center piece or trim?
Thanks again!
My helmet straps keep the earflaps in place. You can also add a chin strap easily if you need to.
Seems like the earflaps would blow off of your ears while riding…. Is there a pattern that fastens under your chin….. or do the earflaps stay in place?
The instructions discuss a few options; briefly, I used extra-thick craft interfacing in most of them. I used a piece of plastic cut from a flexible 3-ring binder cover in one or two, which also worked well. A piece cut from a milk jug or similar could also be a good option. You might even be able to get away with using a piece of stiffer canvas, and then quilting everything together firmly.
What did you use in the brim?
Thanks so much for sharing this. It is awesome!
Hello,
This looks like a great project!
Could you fix the link to the top panel and hat band? It doesn’t seem to be working.
Thanks!
Thanks for the pattern. I was just getting things together for a gift and it is polar fleece sale time…
Only a year late, photos are added now!
It would have been nice if you included pictures.
I’m going to scale this down for my bike baby and make one for myself. Thanks. It would be fun to have a photo page on your website of everyone’s finished caps. I’ll email pics when I am finished. Off to sew!
thanks for pattern for pickle cycling hat! happy winter
Thanks a lot for sharing the pattern! Once my sewing skills have improved sufficiently I’ll give it a try.