Create this wearable fancy hat to show off at your next party or to display as a work of art. Get creative with embellishments and fabrics. We used cotton batting but you could also use burlap or any heavy fabric. Have a girl’s night hat making party and teach your friends this fun project!
Gather:
Poster Board, maksing tape, plaster impregnated gauze strips, 4″ to 6″ styro ball, small container for dipping strips, cotton batting, paper lining, spray adhesive for fabric, pinking shears, scissors, needle and thread, Martha’s fringe scissors, tissue paper, wire, Aleene’s glue, seam binding ribbon, dresdens, crepe paper, tulle, gold spray paint, tinsel and trims.
Begin by cutting a quarter circle shape from cardboard that measures 16″ long from point to sides and circle edges. Using this as a pattern, cut cotton batting shape but adding an extra 2″ around all three sides. Also cut lining same size as batting. Next place long ends of cardboard together and secure with masking tape. You can trim the bottom of the cone if you prefer the hat to be shorter. Be sure to fit cone shape to your head before next step. Using plaster gauze strips, place one strip at a time in water and use fingers to squeeze out excess water. Place on outside of cone and run fingers back and forth to loosen and distribute plaster throughout the strip. Continue with strips until you have at least one layer of gauze around entire outside of hat. Trim any extra gauze from bottom. Place large styro ball inside cone so that shape will dry evenly. Let dry overnight.
Trim one long side of cotton batting with pinking shears and lay on cone to adjust fit leaving extra fabric on bottom edges. Once fitted, lay batting flat and spray backside with fabric spray adhesive and place cone shape in center allowing a little extra fabric at the top point. Starting with one side of fabric, pull gently and wrap over cone, smoothing with hand and moving all around the cone until fabric is in place and completely smooth. Be sure pinking shear edge remains on top. Trim any excess from top point and trim bottom edge, leaving approximately 1″ to turn under to the inside. Place a line of glue around inside edge, press extra fabric around inside of cone. Place lining inside cone and glue overlaping edges together but do not glue to cone. You will have extra lining around the outside edge which can be trimmed with pinking shears once the glue has set up and your lining shape is held in place. You can draw a line around the outside edge and gently remove your lining to trim. Once trimmed you can glue in place to cone.
Your hat is now ready to decorate. We embellished with paper fringe, vintage tinsel, crepe circles and dresdens. See our previous posts on how to create these trims.
