Tea Party Paper Hats, A Tutorial

At the Urging of some of my friends, I have finally done it. I have finally assembled a tutorial for you on how to make a really cool paper hat for a tea party, or a garden party, or why not, the upcoming us premier of season 3 of Downton Abbey. This is what the final product looks like. Don't wear it in a rain storm.

first, you need three large square sheets of pretty scrapbook paper, preferably the same pattern, but at least two of them must be the same pattern.

cut one sheet in half

tape the two halves together as shown above

measure it to your head and then tape the other side to for a  cylinder as shown

cut slits about 1/2" to 1" long around the top

fold the strips in to form  the shape of the hat. You can use staples, or  clear tape

when you finish it should look something like this

cut a strip off the second matching scrapbook page big enough to cover the hole in the middle.

You can stick the patch on the inside or the outside, I think it looks best on the outside.   Tape the patch on the inside first, then cut the extra paper off, so that it just covers the hole.

now tape around the outside of the patch so nothing is sticking up.

now cut 1/4" to 1/2" long flaps around the bottom, approximately  1" to 2" apart 

fold flaps like this, all the way around the hat

take the remaining part of the second scrap book page, and the third scrap book page, and  cut them evenly in squares or rectangles, then begin taping them to the flaps. If more than one patter in being used, alternate them for the best result. 

tape them or glue them on ever flap, or every two flaps together all the way around. 

tape down the top side of the flaps to give extra stability to the brim of the hat.

add a ribbon for a hat band. Whatever color or thickness you prefer. 

where the ribbon ends meet, tape on another ribbon in a bow.

another example, using tape

My first attempt, using staples and glue and no scissors.