Ideas for Newspaper Hats
Newspaper hats may be fragile crafts, but they can be a cost-free addition to pretend-play or Halloween costumes. Since newspaper is easy to cut, fold, glue and paint on, children can work with this material along with their parents to create a variety of hat shapes and styles. Apart from enhancing their costumes, children get the chance to practice their crafting skills and also learn about the story behind each type of hat.
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Sailor and Pirate Hat
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The tricorn hat, one of the several types of marine hats, has been associated with sailors of the 17th and 18th century, and with the founding fathers of the United States, but also with lawless pirates. Only the double sheet in the middle of a newspaper is needed to create a paper hat resembling a simplified and modified tricorn design. The normal folds of a newspaper help to define how to make the hat. Fold the sheet vertically first, bringing the two pages of the sheet together, or closed. Then fold it horizontally, unfold it to reveal the horizontal crease, and turn it sideways with the folded edge at the top, or away from you. Move the top left and the top right corners to the center line, effectively creating two equally sided triangles. Fold the rectangular flaps on the sheets bottom upwards to complete the sailor hat's shape. You can paint the hat using white, blue or black tempera paint, and draw an anchor or a Jolly Roger on it, depending on whether this is a sailor or pirate hat.
Newspaper Top Hat
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The top hat's history spans more than two centuries, as the first official record dates back to 1793. Even though it has gone out of fashion, the top hat still remains the distinctive headgear of magicians. To make a newspaper version, you'll need to layer four sheets of newspaper together for each piece. Spray glue is a good way to layer them together. First, make a newspaper circle measuring 5 inches in diameter. Then make a circular 2-inch ring that has a center hole 5 inches in diameter. Finally, make a rectangle measuring 17 inches in length and 7 inches wide. Roll the rectangle to form a cylinder with a 5-inch opening and tape it together. Tape the circle on one end of the cylinder for a top, and tape the ring on the other end of the cylinder to add the hat's brim. Cover the hat with PVA glue to make it solid and paint it black with tempera.
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Chef's Hat
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From the Muppet Show's Swedish Chef to Disney's Ratatouille, famous fictional cooks sport chef hats, making them an important item for young fans. Make a cylinder out of several folded sheets of newspaper that fits the head the hat is intended for. Trim the sheets if necessary for fit, and tape the ends together so it's a simple cylinder, with the newspaper's central fold on the top end of the cylinder. Cut a long strip, 3 inches wide, from the folded edge of another three sheets of nested newspaper pages. Wrap the strip around the bottom of the cylinder and tape it on, with the fold on the bottom, to make the base of the chef's hat. To "bloom" the top of the hat, make vertical cuts in the cylinder, about 2 inches apart, with a pair of scissors. Start the cuts at the fold at the top of the cylinder and cut downward toward the base, stopping about 1/2 inch from the base. When done cutting, press down gently on the strips to poof them out.
Paper Beret
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Berets are a distinguishing headwear of some military special forces and also of some artists, so are an essential addition to young soldier or painter costumes. A single newspaper sheet is thin and flexible enough to be used as the main material of a paper beret. You also need a large rubber band that fits comfortably around the head without squeezing. Apply glue on the edge of a newspaper sheet's four sides, place the rubber band on the middle of the sheet, and glue the sheet's edges onto the band. Paint the beret with tempera to give it a more realistic look.
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References
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