The Pirate Hat – One of our Favourite Craft Ideas for Children
This fantastic pirate costume has to be one of our favourite craft ideas for children looking for adventures on the high seas. This tutorial was created especially for the AlexandAlexa, Life & Style by the blogger behind Baby Jungle. If you love this post make sure you read up on Polona and Baby Jungle HERE.
-TUTORIAL BEGINS – WORDS AND PICTURES BY POLONA OF BABY JUNGLE-
If you already know my blog or if you just take a peek at my previous craft projects you can notice I’m a big fan of making pretended play masks from recycled materials. And this craft is no different except made something that’s more geared towards boys. However my very princess oriented daughter Tila loves it!
You probably have everything you need already at home:
• Cardboard • Paints (black, white, gold) • Needle
• Pencil • Brushes • Stapler (optional)
• Ruler • Glue
• Cutting Knife • Elastic thread
STEP ONE – CUT OUT YOUR HAT
Draw a pirate hat on the cardboard like this: measure your child’s head (for instance 54 cm) and divide by two then add 1-2 cm and mark that length (56 cm). Now add 15 cm to each side and that is the length of the hat (116 cm).
The sides of the hat are 8 cm high and a bit at an angle. From there you just need to draw the top of the hat – I started with the bulged part at about 10 cm from each end and it is 21 cm high at it’s peak.
STEP TWO – CUT AND COPY YOUR HAT
Cut the hat out with a cutting knife – be patient and go really slowly and gently the first time and repeat that a few times until you get all the way though the cardboard. Don’t be in the hurry because you’ll just tear it. Do a copy of the hat by outlining the fist peace and cut this one too.
STEP THREE- PAINT AND DECORATE YOUR HAT
Paint both pieces black on both sides and leave to dry. Then draw something pirate-like–you can google the images and even print them out to use as an outline if you’re not a big fan of drawing. Finally draw a golden trim around the hat (I only did it on the front part of the hat).
STEP FIVE – GLUE IT ALL TOGETHER
When everything is dry mark the radius of the hat with the extra cm (56 cm) on the inner side of one part again and glue both parts together. Use the clothes pins so everything stays in place and sticks together better! If you’re not confident enough in your glue you can also use the stapler.
STEP SIX – SHAPE YOUR HAT
Wait until it dries completely (I recommend over night) and gently pull the middle part apart then go around with your both hands to make it round and softer (the motions are almost like you’d want to brake the cardboard on half).
STEP SEVEN – ADD A PIRATE PATCH
All done! Now the pirate needs the eye patch as well! After the paint is dry thread the elastic through on each side and knot it in place.
-POST ENDS-
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER
Polona is the Slovenian blogger now based in Germany and the woman behind Baby Jungle. Mother to little Tila she has long been sharing her favourite child-friendly finds with other parents and is a particular proponent of great quality and organic products. Just over a month ago she started contributing to the Babyccino Kids blog and has been creating some amazing craft and baking posts which we just can’t get enough of. You can follow her on twitter, facebook and pinterest for a daily dose of inspiration.