Halloween Party Hat Swap and Tutorial

Blogging and joining in swap projects are relatively new to me. I worry about whether my ideas and style will be welcomed. In terms of swaps, questions abound about whether the recipient will like my work and the packaging.

This is what I told my swap partner Laura at Beelicious for the Halloween Party Hat Swap. She sent me the loveliest thank-you note about her package that really gave me much more confidence.

Since Laura has received her package, I can post my project—both components were new challenges for me and, frankly, I’m tickled with the results.



Heather at Speckled Egg hosted this swap, tasking us to make a party hat decoration at least 10” in height.

Halloween Party Hat



The idea to make a fabric party hat instead of a paper version popped into my head the minute I read about the swap opportunity. So I made a pattern and set to work.

For decorating the hat, a band of black twill serves as the hat band. I made gingham covered buttons (which I learned how to do for the Embroidered Button Swap which ends Oct. 15) and then added a small bouquet of sunflowers along with a little raven. A little wood sunflower button on the very tip of the hat point finished it off.



Whipup and Party Hat Tutorial

I documented the entire process and am extremely pleased to announce that my tutorial for making the hat has been accepted by Whipup and posted today. Isn’t this the most amazing timing?

You can make all kinds of fabric party hats with the instructions, not just for Halloween. Here is the link to the tutorial.

The Witch’s Haberdashery

Along the hat creation path, I gave a lot of thought on how to package it. To me, presentation is just as important as the gift itself.



It seemed to me that a hat box from “The Witch’s Haberdashery: Fine Purveyors of Elegant Hats for the Discriminating Witch” would be ideal.



I found a vintage hat box on eBay that was pretty much falling apart but would perfectly accommodate the finished hat. I reinforced it as best as possible and recovered the inside, outside, and lid with pretty papers and added a length of black twill for a carrying strap.

Naturally I had to make labels for the box—I so love making labels.



A package of Martha Stewart’s Halloween paper banners was tucked inside as a little surprise.