Chinese Hat
Paint and decorate a paper bowl into an authentic-looking Chinese silk hat for kids.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- Large paper bowl (6" or 7")
- Tempera or poster paint
- Paint brush
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- White glue
- Felt or craft foam
- Elastic string
- Pompom or large bead
- Black yarn (optional)
- Glitter glue (optional)
STEPS
1 Divide a paper bowl into 4-6 sections.
Position a large paper bowl upside-down. Starting from the center, draw vertical lines dividing the bowl into an even number of sections (4 or 6 sections will do).
2 Paint the bowl.
Paint the sections alternately with two colors of tempera or poster paint. Red, black, yellow, or royal blue are some of the more popular colors in Chinese silk hats and fabrics.
3 Attach a chin strap.
Though not included in the original tutorial, it is best to attach a chin strap in order for the hat to be wearable by active kids. Once the paint dries, punch a pair of opposite holes near the bowl's lip. Knot the ends of an elastic string around the holes. Adjust the length of the string for a snug but comfortable fit.
4 Cut a strip of felt or craft foam.
Cut a 1½ to 2-inch wide strip of black felt or craft foam to go around the base of the hat. If your felt or craft foam sheet is not long enough, cut two shorter pieces like I did.
5 Glue the felt or craft foam.
Glue the strip of felt or craft foam around the bowl's base.
6 Glue a topper.
Glue a round topper at the center of your hat. A pompom, a large bead, a jingle bell, or a small ball of clay are examples of materials that you can use.
7 Decorate your hat.
Your hat looks great as is but you can further decorate it with glitter glue. You can draw Chinese characters or other oriental symbols like the yin and yang.
8 Wear the hat.
Let the glitter glue dry before wearing the hat. The chin strap should make the hat wearable even if the bowl is slightly small.
More Ideas
Add a braid.
Make a braided yarn topper for your hat. The steps for making one are quite easy, check out our yarn hair tutorial for details.
Attach the yarn hair by making a hole at the center of the hat and inserting the tied end of the yarn through the hole.
Braid the yarn and tie with a short length of yarn at the end of the braid.
