Finished Hats by Kat Hazelton

An easy dolls house project to make miniature ladies hats from cardboard and string. Kat has used hemp twine for these hats, a fantastic thread used in macrame, jewellery making and primitive craft. It is available in a wide variety of colours and thicknesses, and ideal for creating a great imitation 1/12th scale miniature straw hat. Cards and balls of this twine are readily available through most craft shops, and you can often get a ball of natural hemp at garden centres. Kat recommends using 1mm thickness for these hats.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

• A4 sheet of thin white card
• Scissors
• Ball of hemp twine, natural or coloured
• Tacky Glue
• Cocktail Stick

Step 1

• Cut a length of card 5/8" x 3".
• Gently bend the card around your finger/thumb to form a circle with about a 3/8" overlap.
• With a cocktail stick, apply glue to the overlap and leave to dry.

Step 2

• Cut a rough square slightly larger than the circular crown
• Run a bead of glue around one end of the crown and glue to the square
• Leave to dry, once dry, neatly cut around the edges.

Step 3

• Run a line of glue around the bottom edge of the crown, and glue on the hemp twine, rotating and pressing down as you go.
• Repeat, adding more glue, rotating and pressing until you reach the top.
• Next apply glue to the entire top, and continue spiraling until you reach the centre.
• Cut the twine and glue down the cut end.

 Step 4

• Cut a circle with a 2" diameter from the card.
• Cut out a 3/4" circle from the middle of the brim
• As before, use glue to cover the card with twine until you reach the centre.
• Glue down the end. Trim the outer edges so that the card doesn't show. Leave to dry.
• Repeat with the underside of the brim.

 Step 5

• Glue the crown to the brim & leave to dry.
• The hat is now ready to decorate.

 This project was first published in Dolls House & Miniature Scene magazine. For more beginners projects why not order yourself a copy of the magazine, or better still, why not take out a subscription so that you never miss an issue.

 Please take a moment once you've finished your hats to check out the beginners project to make flowers, leaves and feather trimmings for your miniature dolls house hats.