How to Make Foam Hats

Hats are magical items in any kid's toy box. Pop a hat on a kid's head and watch the transformation from child to magician, construction worker, chef or cowboy--if there's a hat for it, the hat can work magic. It's easy to make all kinds of hats from thin foam craft sheets; preschoolers can make their own with just a little help from mom or dad.

Things You'll Need

• Sheets of craft foam
• Strips of newspaper
• Rotary cutter and/or child safe scissors
• Felt tip marker
• Craft glue

Instructions

Foam Magician's Hat

1. Cut a 1 inch wide strip of newspaper. Wrap it around the child's head, overlapping the ends by 1/2 inch. Tape the ends. You'll use this ring to measure the inside diameter of the hat brim.

2. Place the paper ring at the center of a piece of black craft foam. Trace inside the ring. Measure out 3 inches from the ring and draw another circle.

3. Cut out the hat brim along the lines you just drew. Set the brim aside.

4. Glue two 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheets of black craft foam end to end.

5. Measure and make a 1 inch line every 2 inches along the long bottom edge of the hat top. Cut on the 1 inch lines to make a slash every inch along the bottom of the hat top.

6. Roll the hat top into a cylinder and fit it into the middle of the hat brim. Mark the overlap and pull the cylinder out of the brim. Glue the ends together. Working around the bottom, fold the tabs that you cut in step 5 outward.

7. Stand the cylinder on a tabletop with the tabs spread out. Put a dab of glue on each tab and spread the glue to the edges of the tab. Slide the hat brim down over the top of the hat and press it onto the tabs, holding it or clamping it with clothespins until the glue dries.

Foam Fireman's Hat

1. Glue two 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of red craft foam along the side edges. Repeat steps 1 and 2 of section one to make a newspaper measuring strip. Place the newspaper ring so that 3/4th of it is on one side of the glued seam and the rest is on the other side.

2. Starting at the center back of the ring, trace halfway around the circle. Stop 2 inches from the center of the front. Repeat the tracing from the center back in the other direction. You now have an open circle traced on the red foam with an opening toward the front of the hat.

3. Measure in 6 inches from the center front of the hat and make a mark. Draw a shield shape starting with the point at the mark and the ends at the open ends of the circle. This shape will stand up like the front of a fireman's helmet when the hat is worn.

4. Cut out the center of the hat along the marked lines. Round off the corners along the outside of the hat.

5. Cut a shield shape out of white or yellow craft foam, and use a felt tip pen to draw numbers on it. Attach to the front of the hat.

References

• "Art Foam Fun (I Made It Myself)"; Hélène Leroux-Hugon; 2005