Category: Sewing

Making my own sleeping bonnet was quite a satisfying, simple and relatively quick process so I just had to share it in case anyone else might find it useful. We all need to sleep regularly. Sleeping with peace of mind that my hair is well protected by a bespoke cover that I made myself is a great feeling. This DIY sewing project is super easy and perfect for beginner sewists.

So simple in fact that you can quickly make your own custom-made free patterns which can be altered to suit some unique pattern designs for the bonnet! Although the special focus of this tutorial is on the African print fabrics, this clothing item is not exclusive to African women nor does it need to be in an African design. In fact, it can be a delightful addition, in any fabric print, for anyone who would like to gain the benefits associated with wrapping one’s hair with satin or silk. Just as an aside, I actually intend to make one of these using Batik fabric at some point.

Another wonderful aspect about this bonnet is that it can actually become one of those authentic garments that can be made for yourself or as a gift. There are also many places that sell these items so, for some, it could be a simple to make, time-efficient item to sew and sell at a local market or even online.

Fabric choices:

One thing I should mention upfront, is that the choice of fabric will ultimately be a matter of your personal preferences so feel free to use whatever fabrics you prefer for your pattern pieces! For the African print, I chose a brown dotted Shweshwe fabric and a dark pink satin fabric to show how I made this bonnet (see pictures below). I also plan to make one using a silk fabric and a Kente fabric. I am also considering other African wax prints fabric like Ankara fabric and I recently read about Madagascan Silk which I think could be an excellent addition to the African themed bonnet! These head gear type of items are definitely well suited for use of African prints because they can easily be used to match African clothing. As such, during the past years since I started sewing, I have found them to be a perfect accompaniment to African sewing patterns and African attire in general.

Satin and silk are great lining options as they can assist to protect your hair while you wear the bonnet and can reduce breakage, dryness and disheveled hair upon waking. If you are wondering what the main difference between silk and satin is: (i) silk is made of natural fibers that is often more luxurious and more costly while (ii) satin is usually a blend of different fabrics with elements of, for example, silk, polyester, cotton and/or rayon. Even though satin is usually cheaper than silk, it can still provide many of the benefits of silk which is awesome and definitely makes it my preferred option as a beginner and as a first choice for testing how much I like the design, fit and comfort of an item.

Project specific items:

* You will need 2 squares of fabric: one for the lining and one for the outer fabric. I suggest silk or satin for the lining fabric and then another non-stretch fabric) fabric for the outer fabric – for the amount of fabric, please see the Measurements section below.

* You will also need an elastic band to make the easiest version of this very simple pattern. The width of the elastic would be your preference. I used a 2.5cm/ 1in elastic. The length of the elastic band would be Measurement A (as derived in the Measurements section below) + seam allowance of 1.25cm/ (1/2)in.

This tutorial assumes you already have access to widely used sewing items such as thread, scissors, pins, and such items. This bonnet is so simple to make it can actually be easily made using a sewing machine or using hand stitching.

Measurements:

1. Start by measuring the head circumference of the person who will be wearing the bonnet. A useful guide to taking body measurements can be found here. Let us call this head circumference Measurement A. This method should work for inches and centimeters.
2. Cut two squares with the following dimensions : (Measurement A * 1.2) * (Measurement A * 1.2).
3. Create a paper sewing pattern piece for faster, more efficient and even cutting. This piece will be a quarter circle piece of paper with a radius of: (Measurement A * 0.58).

Simple steps to create the pattern:

1. For a easier way to cut the fabrics, I suggest the following method: fold one of the fabric pieces in half two times to form a smaller square as shown the picture corresponding to this step. Pin, clip or use fabric weights to keep the fabric piece in this folded square shape. This will be quite useful when cutting the fabric – especially for the lining silk/ satin fabric which can be very slippery and tricky to work with.
2. Using pins, clips or fabric weights, secure the paper sewing pattern piece from Step 3 above [of the Measurements Section] to one of the fabrics with the pointed part of the quarter circle being in the corner of the square corresponding to the middle of the square fabric piece (ie. the side with no edges) – see picture for reference.
3. Cut the folded fabric along the edge of the quarter circle paper pattern piece. You can also trace the quarter circle directly onto the folded fabric square if you are comfortable to do so. An additional step could be inserted here to advise to use an overcasting stitch on the fabric to prevent fraying of the fabric. You can also use zigzag scissors to cut around the edges of the circles to help minimize fraying. However, I will leave this as optional for now and let you decide if this could be relevant or not for you.
4. Repeat Steps 1, 2 and 3 for the second fabric piece.
5. Unfold each fabric piece to reveal 2 equally sized circles!
6. Place the circles right sides together and sew along the circumference using a 1cm/ (3/8)in seam allowance. Leave a gap of around 5cm/ 2in between the start and end point of the stitching along the circumference
7. Turn the fabric circles inside out by pushing the fabric through the gap left in Step 6.
8. Iron the two fabric pieces together to flatten the circle and line up the edges of the circle circles.
9. In this step, we will make the fabric casing for the elastic. Measure out an inner circle by measuring inwards in my case, 3cm/ (1 + 2/8)in. This measurement will vary depending on the width of your elastic band – a simple formula to use as a guideline is to add 0.5cm/ (2/8)in) to the width of your elastic and use this figure to mark the distance between your inner circle and the outer edge of the first circle.
10. Sew along the circumference of the inner circle.
11. Use a pin to insert the elastic through the casing created by the stitching lines made in Steps 6 and 10.
12. Pin the two ends of the elastic together and try on the bonnet to see if the fit is to your liking. If so, then sew the two ends of the elastic together.
13. Close up the gap that was created in Step 6 by top stitching this piece.
14. Congratulations – your DIY bonnet is complete!

I hope these instructions are detailed enough to enable you to create a successful project with minimal error and maximum enjoyment! Using wax fabrics or other African fabrics can be so much fun and can be a versatile way to add some colour and creativity to your wardrobe – even if it is specifically to your sleep time wardrobe!

Please let me know in the comments section or by sending me a message on the contact page if you found this tutorial helpful. Please let me know if you actually ended up creating a bonnet using these instructions – even if you don’t use African wax prints or African fabric!