If you've been following my barage of Halloween posts over the past few weeks, you know that I have decided to be a "sort-of" bat for Halloween this year. (Lazy Chic bat costume inspiration here.)
I really like wigs for Halloween, so I treated myself to a black bob at the thrift store. When I tried it on, I felt more "drag queen" than "sort-of bat" so I decided I needed a fabulous hat...and of course, I wanted to make it myself. I've been challenging myself to use supplies that I already have on hand so I went digging and pulled out an old aluminum pie plate to use for my base. (A recycled cereal box or large plastic lid would have worked just as well.) The hat came together so quickly and turned out so well that I want to share the how-to...there are a lot of steps, but it's really very easy and only took about an hour. Ready to make a hat?? Gather your supplies...
SUPPLIES:
*aluminum pie plate (or recycled cardboard box)
*scissors
*stapler
*spray adhesive (or glue stick, craft glue or whatever you have)
*(2) 8-10" squares of velvet (or other heavy fabric)
*various embellishments: ribbon, tulle, feathers, etc.
*glue gun (optional)
STEP 1: Cut the flat bottom out of your pie plate. If you are using cardboard, make or trace a circle approx. 6" in diameter.
STEP 2: Cut a straight line from the edge of the circle to the center.
STEP 3: Overlap the two edges you just cut to create a shallow cone shape. (You probably only need to overlap about an inch or less.) Staple the pieces together when you are happy with the shape.
STEP 4: Cover the outside of your hat with spray adhesive. (I just plopped my hat down in the grass and hit it with a light spray.) Then smooth one of your squares of fabric over the hat, creating a small tuck or pleat at the point in the hat where the seam is stapled together. (Try to imagine that this photo illustrates step 4 better than it does...)
STEP 5: Trim the fabric all the way around leaving 1/4" to tuck under.
STEP 6: Snip the fabric every 1/2" or so just from the edge of the fabric to the edge of the hat creating little "tabs"...this will allow the fabric to lie smoothly when you fold it under. It should already be a little sticky, so fold each "tab" over the edge, smoothing as you go. Add a bit more glue as needed.
STEP 7: Spray the inside of your hat with a bit of spray adhesive. (For this, I just stepped outside, held the hat in my hand and gave a quick burst of spray...you don't need much.) Drape the second piece of fabric over the inside of the hat. It does not need to get pushed all the way up into the hat...just drape it in there and smooth it out around the edges, covering the fabric edge you previously folded under. When you are done, trim around the edge to make the fabric even with the inside edge of the hat.
STEP 8: Decorate!! You can bling this baby up however you like, but here are a few ideas based on how I did mine...gather loops of tulle...
Secure loops with wire...
Hot glue to hat...covering seam...
Press until set...
Tuck in embellishments...this is a trimming from the pie plate that I curled and slipped under the wire...I also added a few feathers later.
Make a sparkly bat embellishment...cut out a little bat from black cardstock and glitter it up.
Glue bat to the front of the hat to cover your work...
VOILA! Fabulous hat.
To finish, glue or sew a comb or clip to the underside...or attach it to a headband. Then wait for compliments... ;)
Hope you found this useful. If you did, I'd love to see any projects you make...feel free to share your photos in my brand new Brass Paperclip Flickr pool.
I hope you'll check back again soon for more eco-fun and tutorials. If you're not already following me somewhere, here's how you can stay in touch so you don't miss a thing...
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XOXO, Cindi
