How to Make a Beer Box Cowboy Hat

The highlight of fraternity parties and Halloween haunts everywhere. You may ultimately be ashamed that you know how to do this, but, for some reason, it does impress people. And makes for a good, temporary cowboy hat if you don't have one. This for costumes only, mind you. If you try to pull this off in public and without irony, you are either completely insane or completely awesome.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Measuring tape
• Three beer boxes
• Scissors
• Electrical tape

1. Unfold all three beer boxes so that they're flat pieces of cardboard.

2. Wrap your head in measuring tape to get its circumference and divide that number in half. You'll use this measurement--your head's diameter--as your primary tool when constructing the hat.

3. Using that diameter, cut an oval--a little more than half as wide as it is long--from the center of one of the three unfolded beer boxes.

4. Cut a long strip in the second cardboard box that is the width of your head's diameter, plus an inch on either side. You're going to wrap this around your head and mark where it meets. It should be tight, but comfortable.

5. With you additional inch on the width of the piece, begin to trim it away, leaving a one-inch square tab every three to four inches. Do this on both sides.

6. Tape the strip into place in a hollow cylinder shape that fits the circumference of your head. This will be the bucket of your hat. On what will be the top of the bucket, fold the tabs inward, toward the center of the circle.

7. Tape the oval to the tabs from the inside of the hat. At this point, the bucket should be formed and tabs point inside. You'll tip tat upside down, and place small pieces of the black tape to the tabs. This adhesive side should be pointing up when the bucket is right side up. With one hand on the inside, and one hand pushing the oval down, stick the oval to the bucket.

8. With the third strip of the beer-box board, cut a whole the same size as the oval you did before. This step will make the brim. Cut a circle around the whole you've made, forming a "donut" that's six inches wide. Using your scraps of cardboard, reinforce the brim to make it two to three layers of cardboard thick. Keep in mind, that you'll want the pattern on the underside of the brim to be clean, and not look like scraps. People will see it when you're finished.

9. Fold the tabs on the bottom side of the bucket outward, and tape the brim to the tabs. The tape, again, should be in the bottom side. After you've taped it into place on the tabs, place strips of tape lengthwise across the seam where bucket and brim meat. Do this on the inside or underside of the hat. This will secure the brim.

10. Place the hat on your head, and roll the sides tightly inward--as tightly as you can. Hold them in a rolled up position for about 10 seconds and let go. Your brim should be properly shaped. Make adjustments as you see fit.

11. Grab a Coors out of the fridge, crank David Allen Coe and never take your hat off.

Tips & Warnings

• You can make the bucket of the hat square, if you like. That works well and requires fewer boxes. To do that, just don't unfold a box, and cut about a third of its height down. The only problem is that it isn't adjustable or custom-made and doesn't look quite as good.

[mrdouglee]

on 6/27/2009 Just Buy one at http://www.beerhatbox.com

[wallcrystal]

on 2/17/2009 Good idea!! Horrible instructions..... I took pointers, but if you want to make one that looks good i guess you'd have to look me up!!

[Pixie1976]

on 7/10/2008 fun idea