Instant Leprechaun Hat: Green ribbons on a Daiso Happy Birthday Hat. Dress 359.
I was giving a speech about St Patrick's Day at a Toastmasters International speakers' training club. The previous speaker was evaluated. The evaluator complimented the speaker on being dressed appropriately to match the speech subject.
Oops. I need a suitable hat or scarf to go with my speech. I looked at the outfits online. Not just free tee-shirts. Most of the people worthy of being photographed were wearing high hats, like leprechauns.
How to make a hat? I could take a baseball hat and cover it in green fabric. No green fabric? I could print green and fold the paper. How to fold it? Use the baseball hat as the base, with green paper over the brim and crown.
The crown was the wrong shape. I could make a cake shape, circular with a flat top.
I looked at my hats and my eyes discovered my happy birthday Daiso mini hat.
Much easier to cover in a hurry. I didn't even need fabric. A couple of pieces of green ribbon would do.
So there it was. A tiny leprechaun hat!
Green Ribbons - Unravelled
The green ribbon was intact during the speech. However, eventually, during the two-hour meeting, it unravelled. I did not sew it because I wanted the happy birthday hat to be used again as a birthday hat. However, I could sew the ribbon to itself, but not the hat, so it covers the whole hat for St Patricks day but can be removed for birthdays.
Rescued Ribbons
The green ribbons are rescued ribbons which came from abandoned tote bags. You see ribbons on tote bags from clothes shops, gift shops, stores where you bought large or expensive items, jewellery stores. Once the shopping or gift is at home, minimalist men and women throw the ribbons, as well as paper from parcels, into bins. I have a store of ribbons. Including the ribbed green ribbons.
Attaching Ribbons Quickly
The first time I attached the ribbons around the crown of the hat, I took each ribbon, one by one, sealing the first end with the second spiral, and tucking in the topmost second end. I used three or four ribbons.
The second time, reconstructing the hat for a photo, I hurriedly took all three of the ends in my fingers and placed them together. I wound the three ribbons around. Finally, I tucked in the three top end. That seemed quicker. Try both systems to see which looks neater.
You might find green plastic leaves detachable from plants in your home. (Which can be returned to the flower display and re-attached later.)
But to use a true shamrock leaf, you can copy a picture from Wikipedia or the internet and print it. With a tiny hat, less paper and coloured ink is used.
If you have spare green ribbon, you can wind it around the elastic under your hat. Or make two ties for a bow under your chin.
Crockery And Kitchen Items As Templates
If you don't have a small Daiso hat, you can use a Paper cup as a base, or just as the template for the shape. For a small template, a coffee cup would do, with the saucer as the outline for the brim.
You might have small or large round yogurt pots.
Lamp shades As Templates
Another item you might have lying around, or available, is the lampshade of a working or unused lamp.
You could add a black headband from a wide black ribbon. Use an old spare buckle. or cut a square of card, colour it yellow and spray on glitter, or use sequin ribbon.
Inexpensive Online Hats
At four dollars or less, with free delivery, you can order a green hat from Lazada for next year. (Price noted March 21 2022, after St Patricks Day which was March 17th and is always the same date. although the day of the week varies.)
Useful Websites
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