1880s Dress Up Hat Made of Paper

I love historical garments, and although this is not an accurate method of hat making by any means, it did satisfy my urge to make a hat, without starting a new sewing project. I reccomend looking up victorian hats for a referance, they will not disapoint.The perfect way to create an affordable and accessible dress up opportunity for anyone stuck at home in the coming month, it can be done using things from around the house. This sustainable way of dress up can be made with help from crafters of all ages.

paper (any kind that you want)

hot glue gun

tape

scissors

Any sort of paper will do. I raided my recycling bin, my craft supplies, and printer tray. The only thing to keep in mind is that you will want something heavier for the base.

I did this by tracing an oval onto some card stock. I then folded the oval in half, and cut it valentine heart style so that it was symmetrical . Because we want a vaguely dome-shaped base, I cut a small wedge out of one side, and taped together here.

to make the trim, I cut long strips of newspaper and folded them in small pleats. This was likely the most time consuming part, but you could easily substitute anything for a trim, such as torn or scalloped edges. Use your creativity! I glued it in small pieces around the edge

to make a bow, cut a strip of fabric and tape the ends together, forming a loop. Cut a smaller strip of fabric and tape it in a little loop over the middle of the bow. To make some ribbons, take a strip of fabric and wrap it tightly around a pencil to create a curled effect. Then cut the edge in a "v".

To make the feathers, cut a long leaf shape out of paper. Then, cut lots of notches along each side, making sure not to snip it in half.

tear (or cut) a strip of paper to a desired length at any width. Begin folding (accordian style) or crunching and tape along one edge.

Any type of paper flower will do, and there are lots of great instructables for making all types. For mine, I took a strip of paper and teared notches in it to be the "petals", then rolled it up and taped it. I liked the rough edges, but you can do this any way you want.

There really is no exact way to do this, just have fun with it. I used some of my ruffles in the back like lace, and glued them underneath.I used a large flower as my central piece, and had thins stick out around it. This gluing process did not take long, and soon I had my very own victorian hat!