How to Make Felt Hats for Crafts

Kids will love making this top hat out of felt. Using red and white felt will give the hat a Dr. Seuss look, but any two colors will do. Today, we think of felt as a crafting material. Making hats from felt, however, is an age-old practice. Felt has been used for cowboy hats, fedoras and fashionable women's hats. There's even a National Felt Hat Day each Sept. 15, according to gone-ta-pott.com. Making a top hat isn't that complicated. Anyone able to sew a straight line on a sewing machine can do it. If sewing is not an option, fabric glue will do the job.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 yard of felt
• 1 yard of felt (in a contrasting color)
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Iron
• Scissors
• Fabric glue (if you can't sew)

1. Cut four strips of felt, each measuring 4 inches by 22 inches. Cut two, 12-1/2-inch circles from one color of felt. Next, cut a 6-1/2-inch circle in the center of these two circles.

2. Set two of the cut, contrasting strips together, one on top of the other. Sew the two strips together, lengthwise, along the edge. Leave a 1/2-inch seam allowance (the area between the seam and the edge of the fabric). If you can't sew, use fabric glue along the lengthwise edge of one strip and press the two strips together. Make sure there are no gaps in the line of glue.

3. Take another contrasting strip of felt and sew it lengthwise to one of the sewn strips. If for instance, you sewed a white and red strip together in step 2, sew another red strip to the first white strip, lengthwise. The two seams should be facing the same direction.

4. Sew the last strip of felt to the group, again lengthwise. When complete, you should see four stripes, in alternating colors, all sewn together. If the strips are glued together, allow the glue to dry before moving on.

5. Iron each seam on a low heat setting. Put a towel on the felt before ironing because felt can burn easily. Ironing the seams will help set them in place.

6. With the seams on the outside, bring the two edges of the stripes together, making a tube with the fabric. Sew these final two edges together lengthwise.

7. Turn the tube of stripes inside out, so the raw edges are on the inside. Take one of the 12-1/2-inch circles and line the edges of the center hole with the edges on one end of the striped tube. Pin and sew along the edge. Gently iron the seam and the circle of fabric. This circle will become the brim of your hat.

8. Turning the hat inside-out, line the edges of one 6-1/2-inch circle with the top end of the striped tube. Pin the edges and sew together. Iron this last seam and turn the hat right-side out.

Tips & Warnings

• Sew each seam at least one-half inch from the edges of the fabric. This is your seam allowance.
• If you are gluing the hat together, use a heat-resistant, washable fabric glue.

References

• Felt Top Hat Sewing Instructions
• Working with Felt Fabric

Resources

• National Felt Hat Day