1Make a paper triangle.

The first step is to make a hat pattern from paper. Draw and cut a triangle with a base length and height of 13 inches.

2Tie a pencil to a string.

Tape your triangle to a flat work surface. Tie a pencil to a string and stretch the string taut from the apex (or tip) of the triangle until the point of the pencil touches the midpoint of the triangle's base.

You'll find that it will make the next step much easier if you tape the string to the apex of the triangle as well.

3Draw an arc.

While keeping the string taut, draw an arc spanning the two opposite sides of the triangle.

4Cut out.

Cut the triangle following the arc. The resulting shape looks something like a slice of pie. This will be your elf hat pattern.

5Prepare a sheet of felt or fabric.

Prepare a large sheet (at least 22 x 14 inches) of green or red felt. If you want a soft or droopy hat, use thin felt or a soft-type fabric such as velvet.

In case you don't have a large enough sheet of felt or fabric, you can use two smaller sheets. Each sheet should be the same size or a little larger than your hat pattern.

6Trace the pattern onto the fabric.

Align one side of your hat pattern along the folded edge of the fabric. Tape the pattern in place if you like. Trace the outline of the pattern onto the fabric.

If you are using two smaller felt or fabric sheets, trace the hat pattern onto each sheet.

7Cut the fabric.

While keeping the fabric folded, cut along the hat outline.

If you are working with two smaller fabric sheets, cut out the hat outline on each sheet.

8Join the straight edges together.

Join the straight edges of the folded fabric by stitching them together or by gluing them together with felt glue or low temperature glue gun.

When working with two smaller sheets, stitch or glue the pair of hat cut-outs together along their two straight sides.

9Turn the hat inside-out.

Turn the hat inside-out so that the stitches or the glued edges are concealed inside. You will also notice that you now have a cone-shaped fabric hat.

10Print out the zigzag band template.

Print out this zigzag band template on A4 or Letter size paper. Cut out the rectangle then cut along the zigzag line. Take one of the two zigzag sections and use this as the pattern for making the band around the base of your elf hat.

11Create a zigzag band.

If you went with green fabric for the hat, use red felt or fabric for the zigzag band at the base of the hat, or vice-versa.

Place the zigzag pattern on top of the fabric. Trace around the pattern repeatedly (approximately 3 times) to make a long band that can go around the entire base of the hat.

12Cut out the zigzag felt band.

Cut out the felt zigzag band. If your felt sheet is not long enough, you can make shorter pieces then glue or stitch them together to make a longer band.

13Attach the band to the hat's base..

Stitch or hot glue the zigzag band to the base of the hat.

14Create a hat topper.

Sew or glue a jingle bell at the tip of your elf hat.

15Add tiny pompoms.

You can further decorate your elf hat by stitching or gluing small pompoms or tiny jingle bells at the tips of the zigzag band.