Fashion is always evolving and changing. This is especially evident when watching older media or looking through old pictures. Lately, today’s fashion is heavily influenced by past trends, which explains the resurgence of scrunchies. Among one of those past trends coming into the spotlight again is bucket hats. With their fun patterns and floppy brims, bucket hats can be seen atop teenager’s heads. One of these teenagers is a sophomore at Shadow Ridge, Soriya Ritchie, who loves wearing bucket hats and has created a business around them.

She says, “The thing I like about bucket hats is how fun they are. There are so many different fun fabrics you can make them out of, and that’s why they’re so unique!”

Because of her love of bucket hats, Ritchie wanted to learn how to make her own. She used YouTube as a guide and it proved useful in the process. She’s been making them for a couple of months now.

“I use fabric, a rotary cutter, a cutting board, an iron board, and a pattern to help cut out the shapes evenly. I get my fabrics from old projects my mom has and thrift stores,” Ritchie explains.

Ritchie uses Instagram as a platform to sell the bucket hats that she makes. Customers can choose from a variety of fun and pretty fabrics that are posted on her account. She also posts Instagram “reels,” which are short 30 second videos, featuring her bucket hat-making process.

Describing her process, Ritchie shares, “First I get my fabric, then I cut it out and iron it. I sew the piece together and then iron it again to make sure there are no creases. I sew the lines on the brim, and then attach the headpiece and brim together, and then voila! You got yourself a bucket hat. It takes me about 45 min to make each hat.”

Ritchie started this business as an alternative to having a traditional teenage job. Her parents want her to be able to experience her teen years without the stress of a job. She’s been able to learn a lot through running this business though.

“I’ve learned that running a business is kind of hard. There’s a lot of time and effort that goes into the hats, delivering them, and making sure they’re perfect.”

Ritchie charges $10 per bucket hat, plus shipping if out of state, and some delivery charges may apply. The estimated wait time is about three days. People can order a bucket hat by going to her Instagram page (@bucketsforfun), picking out a fabric from one of the posts on the page, and then messaging her directly.