Easy Paper Hats
Mix and match our printable hat tops and bottoms to create all sorts of paper hats. Decorate them into top hats, a sheriff's hat, a cowboy hat, a pilgrim's hat, a clown hat, a sombrero, pointy witch and wizard's hats, and even some silly hats.
Featured Crafts
Supplies Needed
- A4 or Letter size cardstock
- Scissors
- Glue
- Crayons or markers
- Things to decorate your hat with: ribbons, feathers, beads, buttons, sequins, string, glitter glue, etc.
STEPS
1Print out the hat templates.
Choose one top and one bottom template from our collection of printable hat templates. Print out your chosen templates on A4 or Letter size heavy card stock.
2Cut out the hat top template.
Cut out the hat top template, including the two long bands.
3Glue the bands.
Glue one band at the bottom left tab and the other band at the bottom right tab.
4Cut out the hat bottom template.
Cut out the hat bottom template. This will be the hat's brim.
5Cut a slit.
Cut a slit following the dotted straight line on the brim. An easy way to do this is to fold the template in half and cut along the line.
6Test the fit.
Before gluing the top and bottom templates together, it's best to test if the two pieces fit well. Insert the upper portion of the top template through the slit on the brim. Ease the brim further down until the slit touches the top edge of the bands. If the templates do not fit well, slightly widen the slit.
7Apply glue on the top template.
Separate the two template pieces. On the top template, apply glue inside the rectangle bordered by dashed lines.
8Apply glue above the slit.
On the brim, apply glue along the area above the slit.
9Join the top and bottom.
Put the two template pieces together like you did in Step 6. Press to glue in place.
10Color the hat.
Color your hat. You can make stripes, dots, stars, and other patterns.
11Decorate your hat.
Glue some accents like feathers, beads, buttons, paper flowers, rhinestones, ribbons and anything that will make your hat interesting.
12Glue the ends together.
Glue the ends of the bands together to fit around your head. Enjoy wearing your hat!
Check out more awesome paper hat crafting ideas below.
More Ideas
Print out on colored cardstock.
For quick and easy paper hats, print out the templates on colored or patterned cardstock. With bright and colorful paper hats, you will only need a few accents to make your hat look fab.
Stamp your hat with patterns.
Use stamps to create wonderful patterns on your hat. Try making your own stamps like these fruit and vegetable stamps or potato stamps.
Make fun silly hats.
This hat craft is perfect for a "Crazy Hats" class or party theme. Print out the top and bottom hat templates in different colors and have kids choose the look and color of their hats. Provide them with ample materials to come up with silly, crazy and fun hats.
Create textured hats.
Make textured hats by tracing the templates onto textured paper or card stock. You can also make plain paper appear textured by making texture rubbings.
To make texture rubbings, print out the hat template on plain paper and place the paper over a textured surface such as sand paper or a woven placemat. Rub over the paper with crayon held at a slanted position. To make the hat sturdier, you can glue the paper onto cardstock before cutting out the template pieces.
Come up with costume hats.
Witch and Wizard's hat - combine Top Template 6 and Bottom Template 2 to make a pointy witch or wizard hat.
Cowboy and Sheriff's hat - print out Top Template 2 and Bottom Template 4. You can add a big silver star for a sheriff's hat.
Sombrero - use Top Template 3 and Bottom Template 3 for a colorful and festive sombrero.
Magician's hat or Top hat - put together Top Template 4 and Bottom Template 1 to make a top hat.
Pilgrim's hat - pair up Top Template 3 and Bottom Template 2. Perfect for Thanksgiving! Check out our Paper Pilgrim Hat craft for crafting details.
Tall top hats - print out Top Template 5 and Bottom Template 1 or 2. Make red horizontal stripes all over to make a fun "Cat in the Hat" hat.
Create a green version for a leprechaun or St. Patrick's Day hat.
