How To Make a Paper Hat

Are you looking for some rainy day fun with the kids? Have you tried crafts but find your supplies limited? These tips can help. For a quick, fun activity that requires items you already have around the house, try to make a paper hat.

Materials:
Full sheet of newspaper/newsprint
Decorations – such as paint, stickers
Tall, empty glass

1. Fold the newspaper sheet in half. Rather than cutting the sheet into a single page, start with a full sheet and fold it in half. This will help the hat be sturdier. Once the page is folded, start with the longest, open side of the rectangle toward you.
2. Fold down the right corner. Create a diagonal crease by folding down the right corner toward the center. This will create a right triangle with one point at the top and one to the right. Remember there will some paper left over at the bottom of this triangle.
3. Repeat fold on the left side. Fold the left corner down similar to what you did with the right side in step two. With this fold, there should be a point at the top.
4. Fold up the bottom edge. Take only the top sheet of newspaper at the bottom rectangle and fold it up over the edge of the triangle to make the brim of the hat. Then flip the paper over.
5. Fold the right corner toward the left. The fold should start about three inches from the edge but you can make the hat smaller if you place the fold closer to the center of the hat.
6. Repeat fold with left corner. Again adjust the hat to fit by make the folds closer to the center for smaller heads or closer to the outside edge for larger heads.
7. Fold the other bottom rectangle up to make the hat brim on this side. The hat should now be ready to decorate.
8. Decorate the hat (optional). You can open the hat and wear it at this point or decorate it using paint or stickers. If you choose not to decorate, skip to step ten. If you are decorating, remember to have fun. Select which way the hat will be worn so you know which is the front and which is the back. Decorate until you are satisfied with the look you’ve created.
9. Let the paint dry on both sides. If you used paint while decorating your paper hat, be sure to stand the hat up or place it over a glass so that the paint will dry on both sides.
10. Open the hat and wear it. Your hat is ready to wear. Open the bottom between the two brims and set the hat on your head. Adjust the position and you are ready to go.

Making paper hats is a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon indoors. Experiment with size, create different folds or decorate with fringe, buttons and stickers to personalize your hat.