How to Make a Paper Headdress for a Native American Costume

A paper headdress won't look much like the real thing, but is good enough for a little fun.

If you're planning to dress up like a Native American, you can complete your costume with a paper head dress. This is a fun and easy craft that you can make for Halloween or if you just want to play a cowboys and Indians game.

Things You'll Need

• Brown parcel wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Stapler with staples
• Glue or double sided tape
• Colored construction paper
• Pipe cleaners
• Tape measure or piece of string
• Straight edge or yard stick
• Paper clip
• Markers

Instructions

1. Measure your head using a tape measure. If you don't have one, use a piece of string. Stretch the tape measure or the string from the back of your head, above your ears, and around the center of your forehead. Add one inch more to this length. Your paper head dress for a Native American costume needs to fit like a band around your head snugly.

2. Unroll and mark the brown parcel wrapping paper starting at the edge and going for the full length that you measured around your head (plus 1 inch). Then measure 3 inches for the width and use a straight edge or yard stick to draw a line the same length as the original measurement. In effect, you are outlining a rectangle that is as long as the distance around your head and 3 inches wide.

3. Cut out the rectangle. Fold it in half so that the paper head dress is 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the fold down towards the bottom of the head dress. Insert one end of the headdress into the other end and secure it so that it forms a closed circle using a paper clip. Check the fit and adjust the band so that it sits snugly around your head. Staple it so that the flat side of the staple faces in toward the hair.

4. Choose the construction paper in the colors you would like for your feathers. Draw long narrow ovals that are about 6 inches tall and about 2 inches wide. Cut them out using scissors. Fold each feather in half along the line of symmetry. Snip two 1/4-inch cuts in the feather while it is folded. Make one snip at about two inches from the top of the feather and make the other snip at about 2 inches from the bottom of the feather. Insert a pipe cleaner through the two snipped openings. Allow the pipe cleaner to stick out about 1 inch below the construction paper feather. While the construction paper feather is still folded, cut tiny snips about an eighth inch apart and about an eighth inch deep along the entire edge of the oval (not the folded edge, which is the center). This will make the fringed, feathery texture you will need. Make as many feathers as you want. They can all be the same color or they can be different colors.

5. Insert the construction-paper feathers into the band of your paper headdress for a Native American costume. Use your judgment to decide how far apart to separate each feather. Secure each feather to the inside of the head band with a staple. Make sure that the flat side of the staple is facing the inside of the paper headdress, towards the hair.

6. Bead the glue or place a strip of double-sided tape just below the top of the inside edge of the paper head dress. Press the open edge closed. If you used glue, let the paper headdress dry before continuing.

7. Use markers or glue-cut pieces of construction paper to decorate the outside band of the paper head dress for you Native American costume. Let the glue dry completely before wearing the headdress.