Easy DIY Party Hat Project

As Hayes is nearing his 1st birthday (still unbelievable to me)...I have started planning for his party. I found a precious party hat for sale online for $25 plus shipping. I really wanted one for him, but did not want to pay this much for something that he will likely wear for a few minutes at most. After searching for some info online, I made one myself. This is a very simple no-sew project. I purchased all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby for $11.

You will need:

• hot glue gun
• card stock paper or cereal box
• 1/4 yard fabric
• stick-on felt sheet
• stick-on felt letters
• ric-rac or other trim of your choice
• pom pom for top
• adhesive tape roller (scrapbooking section of store)

The first step is to download a template for the party hat shape. I found mine here. You can either print the template out on thick card stock or trace the shape onto a cereal box and cut out.

Next, you want to cut a piece of your fabric to wrap the hat. Leave about 1/2 inch or excess fabric on all sides of the template. Also cut slits in the fabric at the interior corners and trim fabric at an angle at exterior corners as shown below (this helps the fabric lay down more smoothly).

I used the adhesive tape roller to attach the fabric to the template so that it wasn't moving around while trying to glue the edges.

The next step is to glue the fabric to the back of the template using the hot glue gun. It is best to start on the curved edge, gluing about 1 inch at a time, and making a pleat after each section so that the fabric lays down smoothly on the front of the hat.

Once the fabric is attached all the way around, you can decorate as you wish. I added ric-rac trim in a coordinating color around the bottom edge (also attached with hot glue gun). I used stick-on felt to cut out and attach a number 1 for his 1st birthday and stick-on felt letters to spell out his name on the top of the number.

The next step is to roll the hat into its cone shape. This can be a little tricky because the thick card stock does not want to bend, especially at the point. Just work with it and you have to fold it at the top a little bit. I used the hot glue gun again to attach the tab on the template to the inside of the template on the other side to create the cone shape.

The final (and easiest) step is to add the pom pom to the top (also with a small drop of hot glue).

Here is the finished project: