> Source: https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/from-three-hats-to-a-memory-quilt/ > Markdown companion of the page titled "Memory Quilt from Hats and Caps, Atlanta | Quilts by Big Wes". Client Stories # From Three Hats to a Memory Quilt January 30, 2024 · By [Wesley Hall](https://www.bigwes.com/wesley-hall/) ![Memory quilt made from three hats belonging to a client's great uncle, handmade in Atlanta](https://www.bigwes.com/images/blog/three-hats.webp) She asked me quietly, almost like she already expected the answer to be no: "Can you really do something with only these?" Three hats. That was everything she had from her great uncle. Not a closet full of shirts, not a box of garments, just three hats, each one different, each one worn enough to look like it had been somewhere. My answer was yes. ## What She Brought In The first hat was soft and sun-faded, the kind of fading that takes years of being left on a dash or a fence post. The second was structured, still holding its shape, the brim stiff and intentional. The third had the gentle wear of something he reached for constantly, the fabric slightly compacted at the crown where it had been set down and picked up hundreds of times. I laid them out on the cutting table before I touched anything. Three hats, three different textures, three different stories. The question was not whether there was enough material. The question was how to let each hat keep its identity in the finished piece. ## The Hat Quilt Design Working with hats is different from working with shirts. A hat has structure, a brim, a crown, a liner, sometimes embroidery or a patch that has to be preserved in a specific orientation. You cannot simply cut a block and sew it flat. You have to deconstruct the hat carefully, decide what to preserve and how, and work with the fabric's existing shape rather than against it. For this quilt, the brims were cut away and the crown panels opened flat. Where embroidered details existed, I cut to keep them centered and visible. The three hat panels became anchor blocks in the quilt layout, each given enough surrounding fabric, from a coordinating backing material, to bring them to a consistent block size without crowding the details. The finished size was a throw, compact enough to hold close and substantial enough to actually use. The quilting design moved across all three blocks continuously, tying them together without flattening what made each one distinct. ## When She Picked It Up She held it the way people hold quilts when they are not ready to set them down yet. Then she looked at the block from the faded hat, the one that had spent years on the dash, and she said something I did not catch. Not to me. To herself, or to him. She told me later that it felt like her great uncle was there with her again. That is what this work is for. ## If You Only Have a Few Things The question I hear most often before a first consultation is some version of: "Is what I have enough?" The answer is almost always yes. A few shirts. A single jacket. A scarf and a pair of gloves. Three hats. Whatever you have been holding onto is worth bringing in. We will look at it together and figure out what it wants to become. Small collections require more design thinking, not less. The fewer pieces there are, the more intentional every decision has to be, which makes these projects some of the most focused and personal work I do. If you have been hesitating because you are not sure you have enough, reach out. Bring what you have. [Schedule a Free Consultation](https://www.bigwes.com/contact/) ## Not Sure You Have Enough? Bring what you have. Memory quilts start at $275. Schedule a free consultation and we will take it from there. [Free Consultation](https://www.bigwes.com/contact/) or call [678-322-8849](tel:+16783228849) ## Related Reading - [A Memory Quilt for My Auntie](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/a-memory-quilt-for-auntie/) - [About Memory Quilts](https://www.bigwes.com/memory-quilts/) ## More from the Blog - [What Is Computerized Longarm Quilting?](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/what-is-computerized-longarm-quilting/) - [The Color and Design Principles Behind Every T-Shirt Quilt Layout](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/tshirt-quilt-layout-design-principles/) - [Every Scrap Tells a Story: A Colorful T-Shirt Quilt Made from a Son's Clothes](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/colorful-tshirt-quilt-kids-clothes/) - [She Rode Every Mile. Now She Has Every Shirt in a Quilt.](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/race-shirt-quilt-atlanta/) [All Posts](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/) ## About Wesley Wesley Hall is a professional quilter based in Atlanta, GA, with over ten years of experience making custom memory quilts and t-shirt quilts. [Meet Wesley →](https://www.bigwes.com/wesley-hall/) ## Browse by Category - [Client Stories](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/client-stories/) - [Quilt History](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/quilt-history/) - [Quilting Services](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/quilting-services/) ## More from the Blog [![Colorful t-shirt quilt made from hundreds of blocks from a son's clothes, created by Wesley Hall at Quilts by Big Wes in Atlanta, GA.](https://www.bigwes.com/images/quilts/colorful-tshirt-quilt3.webp)](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/colorful-tshirt-quilt-kids-clothes/) [Client Stories](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/client-stories/) ### [Every Scrap Tells a Story: A Colorful T-Shirt Quilt Made from a Son's Clothes](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/colorful-tshirt-quilt-kids-clothes/) Mom wanted every scrap used. So I designed a quilt with hundreds of blocks, big and small, to capture every memory she wanted to keep. May 19, 2025 [![Custom t-shirt quilt made from 30 bicycle ride and race shirts with a hand-stitched bicycle design, made in Atlanta by Quilts by Big Wes.](https://www.bigwes.com/images/blog/bicycle-race-quilt-hero.webp)](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/race-shirt-quilt-atlanta/) [Client Stories](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/client-stories/) ### [She Rode Every Mile. Now She Has Every Shirt in a Quilt.](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/race-shirt-quilt-atlanta/) She collected 30 race and ride shirts over the years. We turned them into a custom quilt, complete with a one-of-a-kind bicycle stitch that left her speechless. April 3, 2026 [![Beautiful custom queen-size quilt made from luxurious lingerie fabric scraps in Atlanta studio, featuring white negative space design](https://www.bigwes.com/images/blog/lingerie-scrap-quilt.webp)](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/lingerie-fabric-scrap-quilt-custom-design/) [Client Stories](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/category/client-stories/) ### [From Twenty Years of Fabric Scraps to a Magic Queen-Size Quilt](https://www.bigwes.com/quilt-blog/lingerie-fabric-scrap-quilt-custom-design/) A client saved beautiful lingerie fabrics for twenty years. We turned them into a custom queen-size quilt that brought tears of joy. March 21, 2026 ## Holding Onto Something Small? Bring it in. Small collections are welcome, sometimes the smallest pieces carry the biggest memories. [Schedule a Free Consultation](https://www.bigwes.com/contact/) [About Memory Quilts](https://www.bigwes.com/memory-quilts/)