Beyond The Book: HATS!

How many books can we think of about hats? Good heavens more than I can count! The Cat in the Hat, Madeline and the Bad Hat, just about every book by Jon Klassen (We Found A Hat, I Want My Hat Back, etc and etc.), and a new favorite, Hat’s Off to Mr. Pockles by Sally Lloyd-Jones! But books are just the diving board, the jumping off point to go into a whole other world. So a few weeks ago, after reading Mr. Pockles, we just HAD to design our own hats. After doing so, I think hat-making ought to be a regular part of everyone’s lives. With our Hat Maker Pack Playable Printable, it can be!

Our hats were big and grand and exciting. The very best part was that when they were done we could wear them to all our fancy occasions throughout the rest of the day. Making a hat is not nearly as difficult as one might think. If you have some newspaper or packing paper from a recent delivery from Amazon, you can always do the classic folded sailor’s hat. Or you can design a hat made of poster board, fit for any un-birthday celebration. Here are the things you need:

  • Poster Board (or a cereal box, anything slightly heavier than paper, but not too thick that it can’t bend)
  • Strong Tape
  • A Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Decorations

Draw a large circle or oval on one half of the poster board. This will be the brim of your hat. You can make it as thin as a fedora or as large as a sombrero or anywhere in between…just so long as it is larger than one’s head.

Next cut a rectangle long enough to wrap around your head, without falling down, and as tall as you want your hat to be. Roll it into a cylinder and tape the edge together, this will form the top of your hat. Use the cylinder to trace a circle in the center of your hat brim. Cut lines across the inside of the circle like a star, and fold up the points into the cylinder. Tape each point to the cylinder on the inside. Viola! Now all you need to do is decorate.

We spent a good long two hours decorating our hats using my Hat Maker Pack Printable. It features over 60 different decorations from feathers and bows, to flowers and badges! For even more fun, you can incorporate bits of ribbon and buttons from your scrap bin, or better yet, leaves and flowers from your garden! If you make your own hats we want to see them! Tag @emmawalkercreative on instagram!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *