How to Make a Witch Hat from Felt or Card

A shop-bought witch hat usually arrives squashed flat in a bag, with a floppy brim that never quite recovers. Making your own takes about an hour, costs very little, and you get to decide exactly how tall, how crooked and how sparkly it ends up.

The hat is just two pieces: a cone for the crown and a ring for the brim. Once you understand how those two shapes are drawn, you can make a tiny hat for a toddler, a dramatic one for an adult costume or a whole row of mini hats for a party table. This guide covers a stiff felt version that you can sew or glue, plus a quick card version for a one-night costume.

What You Need

• Stiffened felt or two sheets of ordinary craft felt (black, purple or deep green)
• Or thin card in A3 size or larger for the card version
• A large sheet of paper for the templates (wrapping paper or newspaper works)
• String, a pencil and a drawing pin, or a ruler and a protractor
• Tape measure
• Fabric scissors and paper scissors
• Fabric glue or a hot glue gun, or a needle and thread
• Ribbon, a buckle, fake spiders, feathers or felt stars to decorate
• Optional: a thin wire or pipe cleaner to make a bendy tip

Step 1: Measure the Head

Wrap the tape measure around the head where the hat will sit, usually just above the eyebrows and ears. Write that number down and add half an inch (about 1 cm) so the hat is comfortable and slips on over hair. This is your head measurement.

Now divide the head measurement by 6.28 (that is two times pi). The answer is the radius of the hole in the middle of the brim. For a head of 22 inches, for example, the radius is about 3.5 inches. Don't worry about being exact: felt has a little give, and you can trim the hole bigger later, but you cannot make it smaller.

Step 2: Draw the Crown Template

The crown is a cone, and a cone is cut from a fan shape, like a slice taken out of a circle.

1. Decide how tall you want the hat. 12 inches (30 cm) is a good height for an adult, 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) for a child.
2. Tie your pencil to a piece of string that length, pin the other end to the corner of your paper and draw an arc. That arc is the bottom edge of the cone.
3. Measure along the arc and mark the length of your head measurement, plus an extra inch for the overlap.
4. Draw straight lines from both ends of that marked section back to the pin. You now have a fan shape.

Cut the paper template out and roll it into a cone before you touch the felt. If it sits nicely on the head, you're ready. If it's too tight, redraw the arc a little longer; if the point is too blunt or too sharp, adjust the height.

Step 3: Draw the Brim Template

On another sheet of paper, draw a circle using the radius you worked out in Step 1. Around it, draw a second, bigger circle for the outer edge of the brim. A brim 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) wide looks classic on an adult. For children, 3 inches is plenty, otherwise the brim knocks into everything.

Draw a third circle about half an inch inside the small one. That thin inner ring becomes tabs that hold the brim onto the crown. Cut around the outer circle and the innermost circle, then snip from the inner hole out to the head-size line every inch or so to make the tabs.

Step 4: Cut and Assemble the Hat

1. Pin the templates to the felt and cut out one crown and one brim. If you're using ordinary craft felt, cut two brims and glue them together; a double layer stops the brim from drooping.
2. Roll the crown into a cone, overlap the straight edges by about an inch and glue or stitch the seam. A line of hot glue works quickly; a small running stitch is neater if you want the hat to last for years.
3. Push the brim tabs up inside the bottom of the cone and glue each tab to the inside of the crown. Work your way round slowly, pressing each tab for a few seconds.
4. Turn the hat over and check that the brim is level all the way round. Trim any uneven edges.

Quick Card Version (No Sewing)

For a costume you only need for one evening, card is faster than felt. Use the same templates, cut them from thin black card, and tape or glue the cone closed. Cut tabs on the brim in exactly the same way and tape them to the inside of the cone.

Card hats don't like rain or being sat on, and the brim can crease. A strip of clear tape along the underside of the brim helps it keep its shape. This is also the best version for a craft session with kids, because they can decorate the card with markers, stickers and glitter glue.

Ways to Decorate Your Witch Hat

• Hat band and buckle. Glue a wide ribbon around the base of the crown and add a buckle cut from gold card. It's the classic look and takes five minutes.
• Spiders and webs. Draw a web on the brim with a silver gel pen or fabric paint, then add a plastic spider dangling from a thread.
• Stars and moons. Felt or glitter-card stars scattered over the crown suit a younger witch.
• Tulle or netting. Wrap a strip of black or purple tulle loosely around the crown and let the ends trail down the back.
• Faux flowers. Dark red or black silk roses tucked into the band give a gothic, elegant style.

Troubleshooting

The hat keeps falling off

Add a thin elastic chin strap, or sew two small hair combs inside the base of the crown so they grip the hair. A strip of felt glued inside the opening also makes the fit a little snugger.

The brim is floppy

Either glue on a second layer of felt or sandwich a ring of thin card between two felt brims. Stiffened felt sheets solve the problem from the start.

The cone looks lopsided

This usually happens when the overlap at the seam is wider at one end than the other. Unpick or peel the seam open and glue it again, keeping the overlap the same width from the tip to the base.

Frequently Asked Questions

A homemade hat finishes a costume beautifully. Pair it with a twig broom, a witch's spell book or a simple cloak, and you have a full outfit made at home. For more ideas, browse our witch crafts and costume accessories.