Party Hats 101

Since you asked, and since I'm still feeling quite celebratory, today I bring you my super top secret, laziest easiest party hat how-to in the world.  Because, let's face it, the party hat was pretty darn cute, no? 

So, go collect your things.  You'll need a 12x12 sheet of cardstock (cute cardstock, please!), one cheapy pre-made party hat, 1 strip of scrap fabric 1.5" x 24", 1 piece of scrap fabric to make the bow, 1 piece of ribbon, spray adhesive, and your trusty hot glue gun.

Take apart the pre-made party hat and lay it out flat on your cardstock; both the hat and the cardstock should be face down.  Trace around the hat (I did not include the tab when I traced the hat).  Cut it out. 

Reassemble the party hat.  Apply spray adhesive to the wrong side of the cardstock.  Carefully wrap the cardstock hat around the party hat and press into place.  If there is any excess hat showing, trim it!

Next, take the long strip of fabric and run it through your sewing machine straight down the center.  I like to turn the tension all the way up and the stitch length as long as possible so that the machine ruffles the fabric for me.  You can also set it on a long stitch and then pull the threads yourself to ruffle the fabric.  Either way, be sure you leave enough thread on both ends so that you can adjust the length of your ruffle to wrap all the way around the base of the party hat.

Once you have your ruffle, all you have to do is hot glue it on to the hat!  I start at the back so that the two sides joining together are not obvious and I run a bead of hot glue right along where the center of the strip will sit.  Work a small section at a time. 

Now, here's the trickiest part.  And might I add that the lazier your approach, the better here.  I discovered how well laziness works when I was trying to finish the original hat at 2 am and my eyes were a total blur and I couldn't think straight about how to make a fabric bow.  Anyhow, I used a rectangle of fabric and then just folded each side under and hot glued it into place to make the edges look finished; at 2 am, I just couldn't sit down at my sewing machine anymore.  After your edges are "hemmed" into a nice finished rectangle, tie your ribbon in a knot around the fabric on the front side to make a "bow." 

Hot glue it onto the hat and you're done! 

For extra cuteness, please coordinate the fabric on the hat with your birthday girl's party dress (more on the dress tomorrow).

  Also, try to remember to put the hat on the party girl before everyone starts singing the birthday song and you miss your chance.  Hey, at least I got it on her for a couple pictures while she was eating her cake! 

Pin It