Upcycled Miniature Gothic Tophat

Made from lids and scraps on a whim.
I had a whim to make a mini tophat to wear to see the musical Jekyll & Hyde, so I whipped one up with stuff I had on hand.

The top is a hairspray can lid, the brim is a lid from a Pringles can. (If you don't have them in your country, Pringles are potato chips that come in a stack in a paper canister.) I covered both lids with circular pieces from a scrap of black stretch velvet, securing it with hot glue. (And burning the holy crap out of my fingers repeatedly, so be careful.) I used two circles of craft foam to fill, reinforce, and push the velvet down inside the Pringles lid. I glued a piece of ribbon under a circle of felt on the bottom. I glued the top of the hat to the brim (center it carefully), then put a piece of ribbon around it. The fabric rose and feathers came together off of a broken headband that I saved to reuse.

I can put alligator clips, snap clips, a barrette, a headband or a comb through the ribbon on the bottom to secure the hat to my hair.

It all worked out pretty well. I wore it to the show, then met the stars afterwards. Constantine Maroulis told me, "You look nice." Squee! He ought to know.