• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Polka Dot Chair logo

  • SEWING
    • Free Sewing Patterns
    • Bag Patterns
    • Costumes
    • Apparel
    • Learn to Sew
    • Beginner Friendly
    • Embroidery Projects
    • Tips & Techniques
    • All Sewing
  • QUILTING
    • Quilt Blocks
    • Learn to Quilt
    • Free Patterns
    • Quilt Patterns
    • All Quilting
  • CRAFTS
    • Disney
    • Cricut
    • Printables
    • All Crafts
  • HOLIDAYS
    • Seasonal Projects
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • All Holidays
  • TUTORIALS
  • ABOUT
    • About Me
    • My Fabric Collections
    • Published Books
    • Press
    • FAQ’s
    • Contact
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • SHOP
menu icon
go to homepage
  • SHOP
  • TUTORIALS
  • SEWING
  • QUILTING
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • CRAFTS
  • HOLIDAY PROJECTS
  • ABOUT
    • Published Books
    • My Fabric Collections
  • CONTACT
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • SHOP
    • TUTORIALS
    • SEWING
    • QUILTING
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • CRAFTS
    • HOLIDAY PROJECTS
    • ABOUT
      • Published Books
      • My Fabric Collections
    • CONTACT
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Sewing » Accessories

    Make your own Kids Kentucky Derby Hat

    Updated: Apr 5, 2021 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · Leave a Comment

    Today welcome Ali as a guest contributor, she is here to share with us a tutorial on how to make your own kids Kentucky Derby Hat! If you’re looking for more Derby ideas you may also love this post with Derby Party ideas or this post on how to make a Kentucky Derby Fascinator!

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

     

    happy derby everyone! my name is alison. i write a craft blog (currently a little neglected) called she’s one crafty mama. i live in park city, utah, but lived in louisville for four years while my husband was attending dental school. while i was there i really grew to love kentucky and its unique culture, a big part of which is the kentucky derby. i was fortunate enough to attend the derby in 2004 and let me tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN! especially seeing the women in their hats. for those of you who may not know, it is a long-standing tradition to wear a really fabulous hat to the derby.

     

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

    this is the hat that i chose for my derby experience. i went simple because i am a simple type of gal, but some get really fancy and fun.

    (this is one from the infamous infield, which two of my brothers braved when we went in 2004.)

    i still love to celebrate at derby time every year. my oldest daughter was born in louisville and i like her and her siblings to know what a great tradition the derby is. one great way to share that with them, is by making their own derby hats. today, i would like share a couple of ideas for making your own derby hat with your children.

    the first (and very simple) idea is to just buy or use any hat (i picked some up from a local party store) and embellish.

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

     

    i used ribbon glued around the edges and other accoutrements such as, rolled fabric flowers, silk flowers, felt flowers, etc. literally, whatever you have laying around and what looks good to you will work just great.

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school! How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school! How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school! How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

     

     

     

    one fun idea to make the hat especially fancy was to make pom poms out of tulle and then sew them on to the hat.

     

     

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

     

     

    this one is mine.

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

    the second idea is a hat that the teachers at my daughter’s prechool made (with the kids of course) with a product called texas snowflakes. i ordered them from discount school supply but you may be able find them at a local arts and crafts or school supply store. they are basically huge coffee filters (you will also need regular size coffee filters for the flower embellishments, as well).

    you will also need watercolor paints, either in a palette or liquid spray form, duct tape and a stapler.

    first we colored them with watercolor paints. you can paint right on the hat material or spray on with the liquid watercolors.

    my girls chose to go light on the paint, but layering lots of different colors on looks great too.

    after the hat is dry, use duct tape (there are lots of great colors out there) to shape the body of the hat. (sorry for the poor photos: hard to do and take a picture.) center the hat material on the head and wrap the tape around to make sure you have the right size. this can be kind of tricky, but luckily if you mess up, the duct tape comes off easily, so you can start over or just cover with another piece of tape to hide any mistakes.

    then onto making your flower embellishments. simply paint two coffee filters the same way you did for the hat piece and let dry (i did different colors for each filter.)

    pinch the center off the first filter and bring outside edges into a flower shape. staple.

    this will be the center of your flower.

    wrap the second filter and the first and bring up the edges the same way you did with the first.

    staple both bases of the flowers together. you may need to turn the base flower and staple again so that the base stays closed.

    then the decision is to scrunch or not to scrunch. i like to scrunch.

    to attach to the hat, put the base of the flower in the crease between the brim and the body of the hat, fold the brim up and staple until secured. you can repeat this with however many flowers you choose.

     

     

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

    How to make a hat for the Kentucky Derby- perfect for kids parties or school!

    a little windy for paper hats.

    so there, i hope that gives you a good starting point for making your own hats to celebrate the kentucky derby. now go and have a piece of derby pie. (hopefully someone is sharing a recipe for that!)

    ****************************************************************************************


    Check out this post for more Kentucky Derby Party Ideas
    Kentucky Derby Party Ideas on polkadotchair.com
    or this post on How to Make your own Kentucky Derby Fascinator!
    DIY Kentucky Derby Fascinator

    More Projects You May Enjoy

    • How to Make a Braided Padded Headband
    • Quilted Toy Storage Bag Tutorial
    • Striped Pencil Pouch Sewing Pattern
    • Nesting Fabric Baskets Sewing Pattern

    • Share
    • Email

    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello! It’s nice to meet you.

    I’m Melissa. I like to design things, like fabric, printables, and projects.

    I’m also a Mom and a Maker. I am like most of you, just trying to do my best every day. Some days I succeed, many days I fail.  I find joy in creating, if you do too, then I hope that you find something here bring a little “happy” to your life.  Find out more about me here.

    COPYRIGHT POLICY

    All my images and text are copyrighted. You may NOT use any images from this site in any kind of Video (this includes YouTube). If you would like to feature my work, you may use ONE (1) NON-COLLAGED image and must “follow” link back to my original blog post. You may NOT edit, crop, or change my images in any way without written permission. You MAY NOT print out or copy and distribute any text, images or patterns from this site. All patterns, content, instructions, and templates are for personal use ONLY! Thank you! Violators will be reported.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimers
    • About Melissa
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Press
    • Published Books
    • Fabric Collections

    Welcome to the Polka Dot Chair! Here you’ll find easy, step-by-step, sewing, quilting, and crafting projects. We design projects for Makers of all skill levels. Beginners are welcome!

    DISCLAIMER:

    While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content on this website, the information is made available without warranty of any kind. The Polka Dot Chair accepts no responsibility or liability, whether direct or indirect, as to the currency or accuracy of the information, nor any consequence of its uses. This website is not intended to substitute the advice of a professional.

    Copyright © 2022 Polka Dot Chair

    [ Placeholder content for popup link ] WordPress Download Manager - Best Download Management Plugin