Was out shopping with Juli and Liz on the Day of the Competition Prep Party and realized I hadn't yet gotten the cheer bonnets for the girls even though I was in charge of all the hair! These were an envied hit last year on other teams. I knew I had to make them and pronto. We stopped at JoAnn's for fabric and I found some awesome Patriotic prints, the one I got was only $3/yard! I debated on the string and ended up getting 3 kinds. I looked at patterns quickly to make sure I was on the right track and studied some Historic Costume pattern books quickly to see how the bonnets were made. Some were fancy with lace and layers, but I knew I could easily copy the drawstring idea with some fabric glue. I settled on some fabric glue that is partly sticky upon application then seals with the iron. 
Cutting out circles and measuring string...
Next was the tricky part. Trying to fold over a seam with the string inside and glue the edges down without gluing the string to the fabric. It took some trial and error since I didn't have time to pin or plan, but I figured out the square worked better than circle, and folding in the edges flat was the way to go. Pull the string after each press to make sure it's not stuck. I glued the corners in some too but once they were in bonnet shape, the corners tucked under nicely and you couldn't see them.
It took about an hour to cut and glue 12 cheer bonnets. And here's the end result:
This was the morning of the competition, after they slept on it. The night before, I put all their hair up in ponytails, rolled it in curlers, sprayed it down, and stuck on the caps. They slept in it like that, and got to wear their matching bonnets for a few hours in the morning, then we took it out and voila!
7-9 year old Ellicott City Patriots Squad
Side view. Some Blue strings and some Silver ribbons. I liked the silver and will go with that next year.
Fabulous Cheer curls protected by handmade Cheer Bonnets. So cute! Can't wait to do it again next year.
