How to Make a Tri Point Hat

A wealthy pirate might have worn a hat like this.

Generals and admirals wore tri-point hats trimmed with gold braid. Tri-point hats are also called tricornered hats. Members of the Continental Congress such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson wore plain tricornered hats. Pirates trimmed their tricornered hats with whatever they could afford. It only takes a few minutes to turn a plain foam costume hat or a soft felt hat with a broad brim into a tricornered hat.

Things You'll Need

• Wide brimmed hat
• Gold trim (optional)
• Hot glue (optional)
• Sewing machine (optional)
• Thread
• Needle

Instructions

1. Sew or hot glue gold trim around the edge of the underside of the brim of a wide-brimmed hat. If you are making a plain hat, omit the trim.

2. Fold the back of the brim of the hat straight up against the crown. Hand sew the brim to the crown by making four small stitches where the edge of the brim touches the hat. This will hold the fold in place.

3. Fold up the brim in the same way, at two points equidistant from the first point, so that the hat looks like a triangle when viewed from above.

4. Sew the brim to the crown at these two places in the same way.