The top hat was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln.
A top hat can be a fun addition to a Halloween costume or for use in a play. The top hot has been around for 200 years, but is not considered to be fashionable today. Instead of searching thrift stores or paying for a new hat that you are unlikely to wear often, sew your own top hat; this saves money and ensures a perfect fit. A top hat is a fairly simple construction that comprises the large brim that sits on the head, the smaller top circle on the top of the hat and the sides that connect the brim and top.
Instructions
1. Cut two ovals out of your dark-color felt to make the brim pieces. Make the ovals approximately 13 inches by 15 inches. Cut two rectangular flue pieces from the dark felt color; these should be approximately 24 inches long and 3.5 inches tall.
2. Draw an 8-inch-diameter circle on a piece of paper and cut it out. Hold it above you and look at yourself in a mirror to see if you like its size for the top of your hat. Make adjustments to the size and then cut a circular piece out of the light-color felt for your top piece.
3. Sew the two brim pieces together, one directly on top of the other. Draw a circle in the center of your brim pieces that is approximately 6 inches in diameter or measure your head and draw a circle that is slightly larger than your head measurement.
4. Stitch the two liner pieces together, starting from about an eighth of an inch from the outside edge of the brim. Cut the center of the brim from the inside of the circle you drew.
5. Pull the brim inside-out through the hole that you just cut. Sew the turned line about half an inch from the outside edge of the brim.
6. Assemble the flue by first sewing together the different-colored flue bands. Sew one band of the dark felt to a band of the lighter felt, starting about an eighth of an inch from the bottom edge. Sew all four bands together, alternating colors so that they make a piece that is about 6.5 inches tall.
7. Sew the top of the flue to the circular top piece about an eighth of an inch from the edge with the flue turned inside out. Turn the flue right-side out so that it covers the edge of the top of the hat.
8. Pull the bottom edge of the flue through the hole in the brim. Fold the sides of the brim against the flue and then sew the flue to the inside of the brim. Begin sewing at the middle front part of the brim and work outward, away from the center. Sew both sides of the flue to the brim.
9. Turn the flue inside out and squash it flat so that you can see the excess of the flaps. Trim off the excess and turn the hat right-side out again.
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