Can we take a moment to talk about vintage-style hair?
It’s no surprise that doing wetsets, heated sets, and pincurls are a pain in the neck and take a very long time to learn. Stepping outside can be a nightmare- and I’ve had many a hairstyle get mucked up with humidity and a strong gust of San Francisco wind. There’s insane happiness at a beautiful paige boy hairstyle- and then extreme sadness when you realize your hair is in no state for a selfie.
Enter the vintage headscarf.
You’ve seen it in the movies: Beautiful, strong, independent woman picking up her luggage, throwing it into her convertible, traveling headscarf tied securely to her head, and a pair of sexy cat-eye sunglasses as she rides into the distance.
I’ve always wanted one, so I figured I would teach myself how to sew a vintage hood and show you how to sew it!
I was able to source a vintage pattern, but…
–its unfortunately out of print!
I have you guys covered, though. The free download teaching you how to sew a vintage hood has been written up and is ready for printing. I drew out the pattern pieces, including measurements and drafting instructions, so you can make a similar version to the 1940s original pattern! After you get it printed out and drafted, the written instructions are also included- or you can follow along in the tutorial video.
FREE Vintage 1940s Hood Pattern
Get this FREE sewing pattern and tutorial in your inbox!
Please feel free to forward me any questions you might have about drafting the paper pattern, and I will be more than happy to answer them! Unfortunately the video only goes into the sewing process, not the drafting process, but I tried to make sure the instructions were as straight forward as possible!
How to Sew a Vintage Hood– its a breeze.
Before you get started, make sure you have a few different things ready to go:
- Your pattern pieces, drafted on a couple large sheets of paper. Please check out my tutorial on How to Trace Vintage Patterns for all my drafting tools (and a photo of the pattern this hood is adapted from!)
- 1 1/8 yards of shell fabric (with or without nap)
- 3/8y lining (optional)
I made my hood from remnant fabrics I had in my stash, so definitely see if you have anything on hand to piece together! I couldn’t resist this leopard print– I just had to make something dramatic for a vintage traveling scarf.
This 3-pattern piece scarf took me about an hour to sew.
Roughly one episode of your favorite Netflix drama and this hood is stitched up and ready to wear on your next vacation! I recommend the following types of fabric for this hood:
- Voiles
- Satins
- Lightweight Linens
- Breatheable/airy fabrics
I do NOT recommend the following types of fabric:
- Stiff fabrics
- Fabrics with no “sexy” drape (i.e. quilting cottons, thick linens, etc.)
Generally, you can probably use most types of garment fabrics, but you want to really think about how its going to feel against your face- not your skin- your FACE. Your skin there is very delicate and you don’t want anything harsh rubbing against it around the band of the facing. Also, avoid fabrics that might cause static electricity with your hair; the point of this hood is to protect your head and hairstyle!
Click the image above to get the PDF instructions!
The instructions break down the entire process covered in the video, in case you wanted to take on how to sew a vintage hood. If you’re watching the video, though… you might see that I’m also doing a GIVEAWAY!
I’m giving away the above floral 1940s-style headscarf, handmade by me!
You might recognize this fabric from my Almada Robe from last year, and I had just enough of a remnant to make something beautiful from it. Floral, teal, and beautiful for the spring season and all your warm-weather adventures! Its a poly-satin with a lavender lining, handmade with love while I binge watched Game of Thrones.
To enter the drawing, click the image above OR fill out the form below (same thing, really). Entries will be accepted until March 17th, 2017 and the winner will be announced and contacted by March 20th, 2017.
**Giveaway has ended!**
Discover More Vintage Sewing
Greetings fellow sewer Bianca! I was watching some of your vids….I love this hood/pattern and was thinking this would make great christmas gifts for some of my lady friends!!! Keep sharing your wealth of knowledge~~~! Love it!
Thanks, Raymond! Glad you liked it!
I keep trying to click on the link to get the instructions and pattern, but it doesn’t seem to be working
Hi Lisa- I just double checked on my end and it looks like you were subscribed to the email list so I’ll go ahead and forward that over to you directly via email :) Keep an eye out and I’ll be sending that over!
Thanks so much for this pattern and the comprehensive video tute! I’ll be digging through the stash tomorrow in search of suitable fabric (I’m overly endowed with quilting cottons, not so much with drapey sexy fabrics… might have to wait for payday!) but I can’t wait to make this. Cheers from down under!
Love this little hood! I’m gonna need to make a few of these for next autumn!
And for summer, too, girl! I’m off to the desert in like a month and need one in a soft linen ASAP! Have to protect the wet sets from dust storms!
I made this today and I love it! I have a lot more fabric in my stash that it will be well-suited for, I look forward to more of your posts!
Thanks so much for making it, Willow! I would love to take a look at it and see it on you– please e-mail it to me (bianca [at] vintageontap [dot] com)– also open to any feedback you might have about how I presented it or the instructions and all that jazz :D