[klondike_klive]

Not the commenter you asked but I inherited my mother's sewing machine and decided to make a ball cap by seam ripping apart one that was wearing out but fit really well.

I traced the pieces onto new fabric (waxed cotton) and reused the existing plastic brim insert. It's still in use and I enjoy telling people I made it although there a few things I'd do differently. I watched a few yt videos on constructing a cap for tips on things like machine settings, top stitching, fastenings etc then just winged it after I felt like my theoretical knowledge had plateaued.

It would undoubtedly have been cheaper to buy a new cap, but since I'm unemployed, long term burned out and also newly-diagnosed with ADHD, some things are just gut feeling without making a great deal of sense these days.

Now as things wear out I'm cutting them apart to study the pieces and make new versions. It's surprising what you can make. I just made some quilted slippers for my kid by tracing around his feet and using scrap leather I had lying around. My next project is a pair of trousers. Weirdly, as a recovering perfectionist, I find myself a lot more open to making prototypes and learning from mistakes than I ever was in my career.