Whether it's a fascinator, a grand hat, or an understated fashion statement, it's an artistic scene at the Kentucky Derby and at parties across the country. People will spend well over $100 on just that perfect accessory, only to wear it once. What if I told you that we made all of ours for less than $30? And yes, I would wear any of them in public! It takes a little bit of creativity, but it can be done!
There is no one way to make a derby hat! The greatest part about the fashion spectacle is that they are all different, and there really aren't many rules. I would suggest going out and buying a lot of supplies, sit down and get creative with your look to narrow down what you really need, and then return the rest. I found inspiration for my hats on Pinterest! That inspiration didn't just come from pictures of hats themselves, but one also came from a photo of a wreath that I loved.
For this tutorial, I'm making a low-key version of the derby hat. It's simple enough that it won't take you a lot of time to build. But it also has enough bling and a little bit of flare to make it Kentucky Derby worthy.
Here's a helpful hint: Before you glue your decorations in place, put your hat on, step in front of the mirror and figure out where you want it and how you want it to sit. It's going to look different sitting in front of you, than what it looks like on your head!
What you may need:
Hat
Hot glue
Ribbon
Fabric
Needle
Thread
Fake flowers
Feathers
Brooch
Directions:
1. Decide your color scheme! For this hat I chose peach and white.
2. Remove any existing ribbon or decorations from your hat, unless you want to keep it.
3. Decide where you want the decorations to be centered. For this hat, I chose them to sit off to the left side. Mark that area with a pen (and make sure it's in a place that will be covered up later!)
4. Cut a piece of ribbon to go around the circumference of the hat. After playing with this a bit, I decided it would look better if I crisscrossed the ribbon at the ends.
5. Add your fabric. I found a picture online of Jessica Simpson in a hat similar to this one that really inspired me. It included a piece of fabric that seemed to just lay onto the top of the hat. To make this I took some mesh fabric, and folded it over so that I would have 8 pieces. I then cut out a large leaf shape, with a straight edge for the bottom. Once cut out, I gathered the straight edge, and bunched it up tightly, and then sewed it in place with a needle and thread.
6. Glue that piece in place.7. Add the brooch. I couldn't decided if I also wanted feathers with this hat or not. In the end I decided yes, but kept it understated. In the end I cut down some feathers that I found at the craft store and glued them to the back of my large piece of jewelry.
8. Glue that in place on the hat.9. Let it dry, and enjoy your Kentucky Derby party!
