As soon as I saw Jil Sander’s netted beanie, I knew that I had to (somehow, someway, someday) make my own version. It’s a ridiculous hat, I know, but I love it. What’s life without a little bit of absurdity anyways, eh?
This DIY is simple and I really do mean that. I cannot handle a complicated mess of a project these days.
The Supplies:
beanie hat (cuffed preferably)
french veil netting 9″ x 24″
needle + thread
pair of scissors
The Steps:
Step One – lay your netting out, fold the ends to meet in the middle and tie a knot
You’ll want to try this around your head in order to measure just where to knot it – you want it to fit loosely around.
Step Two – sew a couple of stitches through your knot in order to hold the netting in place (I used white thread so that you can where I stitched)
Make sure to only sew through that one side of your hat! I say that, because I may or may not have sewed both together my first try ::hehh::
Step Three – turn the hat over and fold the extra netting that lays above the hat’s cuff into the cuff.
Make sense? Basically, you don’t want the top edge of the netting just hanging out…so you tuck it in.
Step Four – sew another stitch to hold the folded netting in place
I’d definitely make sure to fold the netting in a way that leaves a bit of it sticking up above the edge of the hat’s cuff. It will allow for the netting to be shown off a bit more.
Step Five – cut off the excess netting in the back where you knotted it
The End Result:
Va-vaaa-voooooooooom. Now…
How I wore it or The Final Step:
It’s actually the most important step, because how do you know if I style DIY really works unless you actually test it by wearing it out? It’s easy enough to say that a DIY is cute and “totally works” when you can manipulate the way it looks with just the right light, poses, weather conditions, etc. It’s a whole different matter having to show how it looks really being worn, outside…with kids in tow, no less.
Now, I did wear it two different ways – net down and up. The netting in the face isn’t for everyone. In fact, if I’m being real with ya’ll, after a while I had to push it up (with the babe trying to pull on/eat it). So. The netting down may not work all of the time for us mamas. However, if you just pull that netting up a bit…voila! It still provides that edge factor without the baby-eating-netting thing.
So, yeh. Is a netted beanie a bit much? Definitely. In fact, it totally is. Haha. I’m a mom, I have two kids and I live in South Carolina (I think I was the first one to wear combat boots down here. I kid you not). I’m not strutting through the MeatPacking District in NYC, but you know what…that is precisely why I was attracted to the hat in the first place and so badly wanted to wear it.
The thing to remember here when wearing something that seems outlandish or ridiculous, is that…that one crazy item can actually do amazing things. It upgrades your outfit, your day and, dare I say it, your mood. I felt different all day wearing this hat…and not the bad kind of different – the ‘man, I’m cool’ kind and I don’t look like every other person walking down the street. It’s okay to look cool, to express yourself, feel good and be YOU as a mom. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! WE ROCK, MAMAS and why shouldn’t we show how much we rock through the clothing we wear in our own unique ways?
You go ahead and wear a runway-only netted beanie, strap on that harness over your tee, slip on those too high high heels every once in a while. Do it. Do you – the frikkin’ awesome, unique, flossy flossy you. 🙂
wearing
sweater – RDI Spacedye Crew sweater, Nordstrom brand. (wearing size small for reference)
tank – Everlane Ryan Tank (wearing size small for reference)
jeans – GAP 1969 Sexy Boyfriend jeans
booties – Sam Edelman booties – the coolest. They have these studs that have destroyed leather partially covering them (can’t see in picture, but amazing). I scored them at Nordstrom Rack (sweet!), but there are similar options on Zappos.
Biker jacket – I knowww, I wasn’t wearing one, but I should have been. That’s the thing about the South…it’ll feel warm in the sun, so you’ll run out without a coat and then a couple hours later you have a freezing wind blowing through. A biker jacket would have been perfect with this whole get-up. Mine is pretty darn similar to this Revolve DOMA Biker Jacket.
Cheers,
Cam (in the netted beanie and combat boots down here in the good ol’ south)
photo credit: Brandon Brown Photography
