Whether you’re dressing for a Kentucky Derby party, working in your garden or looking for spring and summer home-decorating ideas, a straw hat and silk flowers combine to provide a blank canvas for creating personalized designs that add whimsy and a little grace to an otherwise ordinary topper. With the addition of a little tulle, ribbon or other embellishments, you can create the best hat of the season.
Start your inspired project by deciding whether you want to go big and bold or dainty and delicate. Choose your straw hat, from sun hat to fedora to Panama, and decide on a color theme. Gather some coordinating flowers, and you’re ready to go.
Things You'll Need:
Hat
- Ribbon, tulle or scarf (optional)
Silk flowers
Wire cutters
Hot glue gun
Wrap ribbon around the base of the hat, next to the brim. Cut the ribbon with a 1/2-inch overlap.
Lay down a line of hot glue around the crown of the hat and attach the ribbon. Fold the top end under about 1/4-inch for a clean finish.
Remove the stems from the silk flowers. You can leave thinner stems to help hold the flowers in bunches, but cut the heavy stems off with wire cutters.
Arrange the flowers on the brim or crown.
Tip
While small flowers work all around the hat, larger blooms will look best kept to only one side to avoid overwhelming the hat’s design.
Add hot glue to the backs of the flowers and press them into place.
Tip
Wrap a length of tulle or a boa in place of the ribbon, tie it in the back or spread it over the top of the crown for a little extra texture. Add a little glue to secure it and then position and glue the flowers into place.
You can also add a small wooden birdhouse, feathers, small decorative birds or other embellishments to set your hat apart from the rest.
Glue small clear crystals onto the petals of the flowers to simulate dew drops.
Writer Bio
Pamela Martin has been writing since 1979. She has written newsletter articles and curricula-related materials. She also writes about teaching and crafts. Martin was an American Society of Newspaper Editors High School Journalism Fellow. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching in elementary education from Sam Houston State University and a Master of Arts in curriculum/instruction from the University of Missouri.
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