Have you ever wondered how a wizard or a witch’s hat is made? Well, wonder no more as I will show you a very simple way to add more magic to that wizard costume you’re planning to use. You only need some basic tools, cutting skills, and enough patience to get this DIY project done.
In this tutorial, we will talk about making hats using two materials. This will be a great start for you as you will have some variations to choose from especially when you are not looking to spend so much on a costume. Read on and let’s start the crafting your costume!
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The Difference Between A Witch And A Wizard
So, first thing’s first. You will be reading a lot of witches and wizards throughout this article and you might get confused. Here’s a quick read about the difference between a witch from a wizard. In the olden days, a wizard was thought to be an old wise man but later on became an old man with magical powers.
It’s no wonder Gandalf the Grey is old yet wise with that funny-looking Gandalf hat. Meanwhile, a witch is the female counterpart of a wizard. There are different types of witches and wizards that also affect how they look and dress like.
That is why it is best to know which one are you looking to portray so you will have time to prepare the costume before starting with your hat craft. Now that it’s clear, let’s get it on with our witch hat pattern and our wizard hat DIY project.
Making A Wizard’s Hat Using Construction Paper
I’m sure you’ve done multiple Google searches in the hunt for that witches hat pattern. You might have gotten a customized YouTube homepage to get those generic ads showing shops online selling costumes. Don’t fret as our tutorial will help you make those easy witches hats to suit any party, costume event, playtime, or even a Comic-con.
The first thing on our list is creating a wizard hat or a witch hat using construction paper. This will involve a lot of measuring, tracing, and cutting so you better get that tape measure ready along with those scissors, compass, and adhesives.
Drawing The Wizard’s Hat Pattern
Using construction paper, you can start your wizard hat by drawing a semi-circle. This will start the cone piece which will be among the pattern pieces of your DIY project. Choosing heavy construction paper is a great idea to ensure that your wizard hat will be sturdy. There are also a lot of colors available so you can freely take your pick.
Next on the list after getting the construction paper is drawing a semi-circle on it. Take out your compass and start pressing its point in the middle of the paper. Make sure you pull the compass pencil out at about 23 cm to 30 cm. Then, swing it to one side to draw a curve.
Here’s a tip: If a kid is using the wizard hat, then the semi-circle should measure 23 cm. Meanwhile, if bigger kids or adults will use the witch hats, then you have to draw a 30cm-wide semi-circle.
Cutting The Hat
Now that you’ve finished drawing the semi-circles for your wizard hat, it’s now time to do the cutting. Form a cone by cutting the semi-circle witch hat pattern and overlapping the pointed ends. Use a pair of scissors and carefully do the cutting of the pattern. You can cut along the curved line that you’ve drawn on the paper.
After cutting is done, it is now time to join the pieces together. Hold one pointed end and bring them together. This will allow the paper to curve. Continue pulling both ends together until an overlap of about an inch is made. This is an important part because you have to make sure to leave no gaps along the sides of the cone you are making.
Joining The Witch Hat Pattern Together
After cutting, we will be joining the witch hat together. You can do this by stapling the bottom of the cone. This is easy to find as it is where the points are overlapping. It’s also the point where if you let it go, the cone shape will come undone. That is why it is crucial to get the bottom stapled so that the shape is kept in place.
If you want a more stable hold, you can make use of adhesives including glues, tape, or paper paste to get both ends together. Remember that if you don’t keep the hand joined together properly, this will result in the paper breaking apart and your witch hat flattening.
Making The Brim Part
Now that you have the cone done, it’s now time to create the brim. After all, a witch hat will not be complete without the brim as the brim adds more to that cackling witch effect. You can do this by cutting a half-inch slits. Then, make sure it is about an inch apart from the bottom of the cone. Once you’re done, you can join the cone onto the brim of your witch hat. For the final touch, simply bend the slit away from the cone. Your brim is done!
Making A Witch Hat Using Felt
In the previous part, we learned how to make a witch hat using construction paper. Now, let’s take a new material for our DIY project. For sure, you’ve already made different crafts using felt. If you’ve got some leftover felt materials, then it’s the perfect time to take these out as we will use felt to make our wizard hat.
Drawing A Witch Hat On Felt
Felt is a type of fabric that has gained popularity, especially among DIY craft enthusiasts, mainly because of its soft surface and easy-to-cut feature. You can make your felted hat using this material by starting with a drawing of a 51cm-diameter circle. This will serve as the brim of your hat. As we cannot use a compass to get the circle drawn on felt, we will be using a fabric pencil with a piece of string tied to it.
Have a yard of felt fabric spread onto your work table. Then, get the fabric pencil pressed down with your finger as you hold about 25cm distance of the string away from the corner. As you pull the fabric pencil, this will cause the string to taut. It will then draw a 51cm wide circle on your material.
There are also a lot of available colors of the felt fabric so you can look for a wide variety of choices. Popular choices include the black witch hat and the witch grey hat as well.
Meanwhile, take note that you don’t really need a perfect circle. This hat pattern will most likely look floppy and crooked so a little deformed circle shape will not cause any problem.
The Cutting Process
Let’s now move on to the cutting process. After you’ve finished drawing that circle on your material, get a pair of scissors and start cutting. You can cut 2 identical circles measuring 51 cm. You can also use a rotary cutter to get the work done.
The next step is to create two similar circles using a fabric pen or marker with shortened strings of about 20 or 23 cm long. You can hold it down onto the fabric as it creates a circle pattern. If you want to create a smaller circle, all you have to do is to extend the string down onto the felt.
If you want the witches’ hat to fit high on your head, make sure your small circle has a head measurement of 20 cm in diameter. This is also the same size for kids. Meanwhile, if you’re making hats out of wool felt for adults, the measurement should be 23 cm in diameter.
Let’s talk about the brim. After you’ve done the base and have created your cone, cut a line around the brim to allow a small circle cutout. Then, have the felt layers joined together by sticking 4 sewing pins onto it.
Cut around 1.3 cm towards the middle of the circle. This will give you enough seam allowance. Should you wish to have your hat sloped down, simply cut a 7.6cm wedge from the brim. Separate the parts but bring the brim edges together.
Final Touches For The Felt Hat
After drawing, measuring, and cutting, we’re on to the last few touches before our hat is completed. What you’ve got to do now is to stack the pieces of felt on the batting. Line the edges up as you lay the pieces.
Have the outer edges of the brim been sewed as well as the felt’s top layer found under the batting? If you have a sewing machine at home, start making straight stitches around the outside circle’s edge. If you don’t have one, you can carefully sew it by hand.
As for the cone, you can have a triangle-shaped felt pattern cut out and sewn after you’ve turned it right-side out. Don’t forget to leave a 1/4 inch seam allowance. After sewing, turn it inside out so you can inspect the stitches done. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can also stitch by hand. If you want the cone piece to stand out, you can stuff it with batting.
This will give your wizard hat costume a more definite appearance. Gently push the stuffing inside and sew small circle felt scraps to the inside of the witch hat. Leave some seam allowance on the outer edge so it will have a more defined shape. If you sew it too tight without any seam allowance, chances are your batting will leave a compressed, bulky look.
FAQ On How To Make A Wizard Hat For Cosplay
How do you make a homemade wizard hat?
Making a wizard hat at home is not really difficult. If you are fond of crafting, I’m sure you have some remaining felt stored somewhere. You can use this along with some basic tools. This includes a tape measure, some scissors, a sewing pin set, and adhesives. It would be handy if you have a sewing machine at home but you can also use sew by hand if you haven’t got any.
A wizard hat DIY costume has become a favorite Halloween dig as well as a popular cosplay choice. This is because you can easily pair it with a long black dress or even go for the casual wizard or witch look. It does not require a lot of thinking time. You can even look at relevant results from searches made on Google about hats’ patterns.
Google uses a tracking feature that can get the general location of its users. Thus, they are able to show you more relevant results especially with what you are trying to find. This means that if you don’t have enough materials at home, you can easily source out what you need just by using apps with personalized content.
How do you make a cosplay hat?
Making a cosplay hat will not take a whole day to make depending on how intricate you want it to be. If you are looking to make a simple witch hat, then you will need a paper or felt wool fabric to get the work done. With simple measuring and cutting, you can form the circle that you’ve drawn into a cone. After which, you can use a measuring tape to draw the right sizes for your hats’ brim.
Once the base process is done, simply join the pieces together and you’ll have a witch hat in no time. However, you have to be careful in joining pieces of materials together. This is because some materials do not stick tightly with glue and need to be sewn. This is where your sewing skills get tested.
I personally prefer to get things sewed by hand as this helps me have more control over the edges of my pattern. However, those who have sewing machines at home can make use of this convenience.
On the other hand, you won’t also need to worry about the color because papers used in making hats along with the felt fabric have a lot of color variations that you can choose from. You can even accessorize your hats with different materials including plastic gems and stones. This will make it shinier that would probably get the audience’s attention.
What are wizard hats made out of?
Wizards hats as well as a witch hats can be made of many different materials. This includes those made from construction paper that is thick and sturdy. Another popular choice is those from felt wool. If you are fond of going to Comic-cons, you will be able to observe audience engagement through different costume ideas.
You can look around for those cosplaying wizards and witches to be able to get a glimpse of which materials their hats are made of. This will give you a good idea of which one to use as you make your own DIY craft as well. There are also a lot of tutorials online offering help to those who are beginners in crafting a cosplay costume. You can check out these tutorials and have fun crafting your hat costume.
What kind of hat does a wizard wear?
As we’ve mentioned earlier, a wizard has been known to be an old wise man possessing magical powers. So most wizard hats are colored in darker shade probably because those who wear them are aged.
As to the shapes, some hats look fun with their crooked style while some are upright standing. On the other end, some hat costumes are seen to stick out because of their unique colorway. Meanwhile, there are also other wizard hats that are slightly soggy.
If you’ve been watching Gandalf the Grey how to on making wizard hat tutorials online, then making this craft will not be so difficult for you. But for those who haven’t, Gandalf is actually the wizard in the Lord of The Rings. You can check out his pictures to give you an idea what a classic wizard hat looks like.
However, if you want to look more stylish, you can always change the colors of the materials you are using. After all, a cosplay costume does not only mean copying a favorite character. It can also show how well you make your costumes and a bit of your own personality through how you portray the chosen character.
