Alright, so today I’m gonna walk you through how I made a “Khabib Hat.” You know, the papakha. I always thought they looked cool, and figured, why not give it a shot?
First thing I did was hit up Google. I needed some kinda pattern or guide. Found a few different ones, mostly YouTube videos. Watched a couple, and honestly, they were all over the place. Some were super complicated, some were kinda vague. I decided to piece together what I liked from each.
Next up, materials. This is where things got interesting. A real papakha is made from sheepskin, but I ain’t got access to that. So, I went to the local fabric store. Looked around, felt a bunch of stuff, and ended up grabbing some faux fur. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it felt pretty close and it was cheap. Also got some lining fabric, just some basic cotton stuff.
Now for the cutting. This was tricky. The pattern I kinda made up involved a cylindrical shape for the main body and a flat circle for the top. I used some cardboard to make templates. Cut out the fur first, making sure to leave extra for seam allowances. Fur is messy, let me tell ya. Cut the lining pieces the same size.
Sewing time! I started with the cylinder. Sewed the fur edges together, inside out, to make the tube. Then did the same with the lining. Flipped the fur right-side out. It already started to look like something! Then, I sewed the fur circle to the top of the fur cylinder, trying to ease the fabric around so there wouldn’t be any big puckers. Did the same with the lining circle and cylinder.
The trickiest part was joining the fur and lining. I put the lining inside the fur, wrong sides together. Folded the bottom edges of both the fur and lining inwards, and then sewed them together all the way around. This took some patience to get it looking neat.
Finishing touches. I gave the fur a good brushing to fluff it up. Trimmed any stray threads. Tried it on, and… not bad! It wasn’t perfect, definitely a bit wonky in places, but it was recognizably a papakha. I felt kinda ridiculous wearing it around the house, but hey, I made it myself!
- Mistakes I made:
- My measurements were a little off, so it’s a bit bigger than I wanted.
- The faux fur sheds like crazy. Vacuuming required!
- Next time, I’ll try to find a pattern that’s a bit more precise.
Overall, it was a fun project. Would I wear it out in public? Probably not. But it was a good learning experience, and now I have a slightly ridiculous hat to wear when it’s cold. Maybe I’ll try making a real one someday, if I can find some sheepskin.
The most important thing: Don’t be afraid to mess up. It’s just fabric. You can always try again.
