Easy Yarn Beard Hat

Have you ever wanted a big ol' beard, but never had the opportunity to grow one? Maybe you're cosplaying as Gimli or Hagrid and you really need one for a comic-con. Maybe you just like beards. Well, by following this tutorial you can finally have the voluptuous beard of your dreams!

If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Duck Dynasty, or anything else involving bushy beards, this project if for you.

Best of all, it's quite inexpensive and easy to make, and it looks great!

-A hat (I used an old beanie that I had lying around, but you can use practically any hat you want, such as a Santa hat, a knit cap, a hat with ear flaps, a top hat, a sturdy wig, or a helmet.)

-Yarn, any color (you'll need about 160 feet of yarn to make a beard the length of the one pictured, but you can customize the length depending on how long or short you want it.)

-2 pipe cleaners, any color (if you don't have pipe cleaners, you can try this Instructable or this one)

-Sharp scissors

-Thread that's around the same color os your yarn

About 1 cm above the bottom edge on one side of the hat, cut a small hole using your scissors.

Cut another hole on the other side of the hat.

(Your holes should be around where your ears are when you have the hat on.)

(If you're attaching your beard to a helmet or another hard hat, you can either hot glue the pipe cleaners onto it, or you can drill a hole in the helmet to thread the pipe cleaners through.)

Poke one end of a pipe cleaner through one of the holes. Bend it over and twist it into a secure loop.

Repeat on the other side.

Put on your hat and adjust the chin strap to fit comfortably, making it longer or shorter as needed.

Don't let it go too far down; it should rest just below your mouth.

Once you're happy with the fit of the chin strap, it's time to add the mustache strap.

Get another pipe cleaner and make a little arch that fits right above your mouth. Twist the mustache pipe cleaner securely onto the chin pipe cleaner.

Trim the loose tails and twist any little stubs around the chin pipe cleaner to minimize any face-poking.

Try the hat on to make sure everything is in the right place, adjusting as needed.

Cut 100-130 pieces of yarn at least DOUBLE the length you want your beard to be. I cut my pieces about 1' 3'' long, and the end product beard was about 6" long after trimming. If you're braiding your beard, cut the yarn even LONGER (about 3x the length of the final beard).

Set aside 20 pieces of yarn for the mustache.

Using your thread, tie a tight knot in the middle of the mustache yarn (20 pieces of yarn).

Using a small piece of yarn, tie the center of the mustache to the middle of the mustache wire.

Using more yarn, tie the sides of the mustache to the end of the mustache wire near the chin strap.

Hold 2 strands of yarn together. Fold them into a loop and put the loop under the chin pipe cleaner. Fold the top of the loop over the top of the pipe cleaner, then pull the end strands of the yarn through the loop and tighten. That's your first strand of beard hair!

Continue adding more and more strands of beard hair all along the chin strap until it's as full as you want it to be.

Once you've filled up the whole beard, trim the "split ends" so that it looks smooth and well-groomed.

If you're going for a wilder "mountain-man" type of look, you can leave it ragged at the bottom. It's all up to you!

And now you're done! Admire your work, make sure it fits correctly, and braid it if you like.

I hope you enjoy your burly beard of brute beauty! :D