Two Winter Projects (and One Chewy Treat!)

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Tirzah's Cozy Head-Warmers

Do you sleep in a cold room? The folks in our family do. But after I learned that 70% of a person's body heat loss is through the head, I figured out a way to make noggin-warmers for all the children in our family (and I have three brothers and four sistersl). Nowadays, we all sleep snug . . . because we put our nightcaps on!

Here's how to do it yourself. First, gather up some flannel and some wool. (I think it's fun to recycle used cloth, so I made ours from old jackets, shirts, and pajamas.) Cut a 12" X 20" piece of wool and fold it in half so it's 10" X 12" . Now round off the back and top of the hat-to-be by cutting a curve that starts halfway up the folded side and ends halfway across the top. Sew right sides (the ones that will show when the garment's finished) together along this curve, leaving about a half-inch seam. Do this by starting at the middle of the back—where you began cutting—and working all the way (don't stop halfway this time) across the top.

Next, cut a piece of flannel that's 12" X 24" (4" longer than the first piece). Fold it and sew it as you did the wool. After that, turn the flannel inside out—placing its seam on the inside—and pull the wool (which still has its seam outside) over it. At this point, the right sides of both materials should face each other and the longer flannel will poke out some from under the wool.

Sew around the bottom edge of the head warmer, making sure—as you do so—that the centers of the materials are matched. Now turn the night cap "inside out" (actually, it's "outside in") so the seams are hidden, the right sides are showing, and the wool is on top. Fold the protruding flannel section back onto the wool, turn under the raw edge of this material, and topstitch along this edge. Now, you'll have a tube around the front edge of the cap.

You can make a drawstring to go through this tube by cutting a separate 4" X 50" piece of flannel . . . folding the two long edges in to the middle. . . folding that double-creased strip in half lengthwise . . . and topstitching the whole 50" piece. Run that cord through the hat's tube (temporarily fasten a big safety pin on one end of the "string" to help you push it along).

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