What you need for this particular cancan hat tutorial:
- Round top straw sun hat
- Scissors
- Needle and thread
- Glue Gun
- Ribbon and lace for decoration if your hat isn’t decorated already.
You can easily pick up a big wide brim rounded straw sun hat for $2 from a thrift store and if you check out junk stores you can probably find one new for not much more than that! I happened to have one from back in my Country Lolita days that I had decorated with ribbon and lace but I’ve never actually worn it because the shape looked silly on me… time to make it all flat and pretty :D
Ok let’s get started!
At the top of the hat you will notice that the whole thing is made of a big spiral of straw which it stitches together. Carefully wedge your scissors into the top of the spiral and cut a few of the stitches.
Gently pull it apart, continue cutting stitches if you need to.
Start unraveling the spiral and cutting the stitches as you go ^_^
Keep going until you get to around this point:
When you get to here there are two options depending on the type of hat you started with. Some of these sun hats have very straight sides and some of them are basically a gigantic dome.
If you’re lucky enough to have one with straight sides then you can skip the next few steps.
If you have one with curved sides (like me) you will need to continue unraveling the hat until you to get to a point where the part that’s left is completely straight. This point might be different for you hat but mine was just above the ribbon band here:
Now you should get your needle ready and thread it.
Ok now it’s time to put it back together so the sides are straight and the top is flat!
Because the straw has been in a curved position for so long you will most likely need to bend it straight before you put it back together. Make sure to be gentle when you do this so you don’t damage it. I straightened it by putting it flat on the floor and gently bending it the other way.
Now you need to start winding the straw back into place. You can either do it the right way and stitch it in place or the quick way and hot glue it in place. Either way secure it as you go around.
You can see that the way I’ve put it back in place is much more vertical than the original pattern.
Keep going until you think your hat is tall enough and then do one more rotation around the top to make sure it is flat enough for the top of the hat not to be on an angle!
When you’re finished you should cut the excess straw off and secure the ends. I am going to cover the straw end with more decoration at the end so it doesn’t show.
Now let’s make the top! Get your left over straw and arrange it on a flat surface in a spiral.
You should measure the spiral to make sure it fits the top of your hat exactly and pin it in place.
Now stitch or glue your top in place.
Continue until it is the right shape and diameter. You should stitch the end of the straw around so it forms a circle like this:
Cut off the excess and this is what you get:
Do make sure that it fits the top of the hat before you cut the ends so you don’t have a gaping hole in your hat!
At this point I cut off the elastic string which holds the hat on your head because it was pointless and in the way.
Now on the inside of your hat, glue/stitch the top in place :D
You should get something like this:
Hurray it has a flat top!!
Now we’ve made the top shorter and flatter the large brim looks a bit silly! So let’s make it shorter :D
Find the edge and snip the stitches. It should come apart very easily.
I pulled out maybe 3 or 4 rows of it. Now secure the edge back in place.
And you get this…
Last step is decoration! I wanted a nice big rosette style thing on my hat so I cut off the long tulle tail…
And added another one of top. This also covers the join around the hat. Again hot glue or sewing is fine here.
TAADAA!
And there you have it, an adorable cancan hat that cost me nothing :D And I have another cute hat to add to my arsenal of bad-hair-day-hiding-tools ;)
What do you guys think? Are any of you going to give the cancan hat tutorial a try?
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YOU ARE SO TALENTED (T________T) I’m amazed!!!!
XD Thank you so much! I swear it’s not talent, just a mind that keeps trying to take things apart and put them together again!
love how you transformed a $2 hat into something so wearable. :D
i think you could’ve taken more off the outsides but its perfect otherwise! ♥
:D Transforming cheap crap into pretty things is one of my favorite pass times! Such is life on a budget XD
*clap clap clap*
The price are getting ridiculous now,
but thx for showing us that even on a budget and with patience u can still be on trend.
Another job well done^^
You’re completely right, they are going for insane prices because they are fashionable! Thank you, I’m glad you liked the tutorial!
WHAT!? You can do that! I <3 you, as I've been looking all over for a boater had and haven't been having much luck. The hat looks great!
XD Yep you can totally do that! Seriously boaters are way over priced and hard to find now unless you’re an Australian school kid. The round straw hats are eeeeverywhere in thrift stores or holiday places so cheap and so easy to change into boaters :D I so want to see if you do it!
It looks awesome! I’m seriously addicted to your blog now, I love DIYness Y_Y
Aw thank you so much Shouri! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my blog too, hopefully I can bring you lots and lots of cool diy fun soon :D
This is sooooo adorable =D
I agree with Shouri~ To me, you are the DIY reference!!
Squee! Thank you so much Shmoo! You girls all know how to make me feel awesome :D
Creative!
Thank you ^_^
Wow O.O That’s a crazy good idea! And it looks amazing on you ^.^ I’ve been trying to figure out a good hat for summer, and lamenting how expensive cute hats are! Maybe I should try this on my old 100% paper “straw hat” that I have sitting around XD
Thank you Kari! Yes good hats can be so expensive *_* Oh you should totally give it a try! It’s just coming into winter here but it’s still sunny so a good hat is always necessary! Let me know if you try it out!
Oh, wow, that’s such a great idea! Actually, I’ve been looking for a cancan hat like crazy for the last couple of months (Because I don’t want to bother my parents by ordering one from the internet, haha), but all I found were these round ones. I do think that I’ll use this tutorial to make one, since yours turned out so cute! ♥
Thank you! Yes if you can’t find anything other than round ones this is a great way to get the hat you want :D Then you can decorate with anything you like!
Unbelievable, that’s so cute! By the way, I really like your writing style. It’s informative, funny and humble all at once!
Oh wow thank you so much Miruku! I always hope that my tutorials are easy to understand and I am a big believer that nothing should be taken too seriously ^_^ It’s so lovely to get feedback like this :D
Violet, you’re amazing; you’ve got tips for everything! Great tutorial (again)! *claps*!
:D Thank you so much Lib! Haha don’t encourage me or I’ll start giving out tips for lame things like cleaning the house XD
I started following your blog earlier this year and your DIY posts never fails to blow me away! Though I’ve never the patience to do DIY stuff but I love it when I know I’ll be able to do things with your help. =) So far, I think this is the greatest creation of yours.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Lavender! I hope you decide to do something, it can be so much fun ^_^
Take a bow! *round of applause* you are super-ly mega-ly talented!
XD I’m seriously not that talented! I just enjoy making little things like this ^_^
OMG! a $2 dollars hat can actually do so much things on it!
I know, there is so much promise even in cheap things!
OH , and Violet , can i link you at my blog ? :D
Oh of course you can Alina! I will add your blog to my links page next time I update too :D
Yay~ would love you to create more tutorials !
and knitting! ( i’m trying very hard ! but stuck somewhere ! )
Seriously love your tutorials to max!
Will always be your reader!
Aww you are the sweetest girl ever! I will definitely make more tutorials ad hopefully some knitting ones too :D
I LOVE IT!
Your tutorials are GREAT. I got sooo inspired everytime I check your DIY-tips.
Seriously, your blog is one of my favourites nowdays :—DD
keep blogging, thank youuu~ ♥
:D Thank you so much! Yay It’s so awesome to know my tutorials are actually inspiring people! Thank you so much for reading and I promise to keep blogging lots :D
What a great tutorial! I will definately have to try this for our vaudeville show what we will need a lot of boaters. I would never have thought of this myself. Thankyou so much.
xoxo
Clara
Oh yes I bet this would be much cheaper than buying lots of boaters! I am trying to imagine the kind of burlesque that involved boaters, it would be adorable!
Just imagine 10 pin curled girls in red striped sailor shirts, white short, straw boaters and two toe shoes, tap dancing. That’s pretty much what I have in mind!
Ooooow that is going to be awesome!
Haha! I knew it would be an amazing transformation – you rock the DIY once again! You & I should get together for a series on cool things to make out of daggy straw hats :) I’ve bought vintage/2nd hand straw hats and totally unravelled them to make a different hat, like an EGL mini-tophat. (Lucky for me I’ve got a 2nd hand cheapo kids boater that I’m gonna wear as a tilt hat)
XD Thank you! Oh we should totally get together for a crafty series, that would be awesome! I love mini top hats, I bet it turned out adorable!
i wanna make one now :p but i should be revising tehe :3
Haha no Naka revise and make sure to get good grades! Then lots of sewing as a reward after ^_^
at least you made full use of you ‘life on a budget’ xD
Haha that’s very true ^_^
Violet, I do adore your tutorials! I am only recently new to following your site, but it is very helpful. Your bunny slippers are being attempted over here, simply adorable.
Keep up the good work!
Miss Matched
Oh yay! I would love to see your bunny slippers when you’re finished! If you send me photos I can add them to the readers gallery :D Thank you so much for commenting!
Hey violet! gossh! you are immensely creative! that is definitely something i never would’ve thought of. i love your tutorials and your…EVERYTHING. keep up the great work =)
Thank you so much Emily! :D you are so sweet! I will definitely keep blogging ^_^
Jesus! Really. The MacGuyver of Himegal strikes again! Seriously your creativity knows no bounds! Wow such great work and I love the sweet pink accents. <3
Wooo MacGuyver! I am seriously changing my tag line from “Tales of an Ingenue” to “The MacGuyver of Himegal” LOL! Aside from that, thank you so much, your comments always make me giggle! <3
Lol oh my God I can’t believe this is popular now! And to think I spent some much time paying out the BBC boys for their stupid boaters lol! I love Mitsu’s comment by the way ‘the Macguyver of himegal’ sounds about right :P.
I know right?? I went to school up north in Townsville and there was only one school that had them and every other school made fun of them all the time because of their doofy hats! Haha I like the sound of “the MacGuyver of Himegal” XD You girls are all so awesome!
you are a DIY goddess!
XD No just have too much time!
HEY Violet!
I’m so into DIY now because of you!
Hope to see more of your tutorials and will always support you ! :)
Will be re-reading your blog after my exams ( end of May ) !
And try out all the tutorials one by one in my 1 month holiday in June!
You’re so sweet!
Your reader ,
Alina
Aww that’s so cute Alina! Oh wow you’re going to do all of them? I can’t wait to see how it goes, good luck with your exams! <3
WTF VIOLET. You just made me feel stupid buying expensive can can hats fml.
It is sooooooooooo cute! I love all your DIYs!!!!
XD Hahaha sorry Cheesie! I’m glad you like the end result though heehee!
Yep !!! I think this is something I will try. I’m now on the look out for a cheap hat. Violet you’re the best !
Oh awesome! I can’t wait to see yours :D
I think I had one of those round ones with a red ribbon when I was a kid… I wonder where that went :D
Lovely tutorial!
Thank you!
Violet! Your DIY imagination & creativity knows know bounds! I don’t even know how you’ve been able to come up with so many clever projects. Thanks for posting this!
I am so impressed with your creativity! I love it!!!
Aww thank you for such a lovely comment and thank you for reading! ^_^ I will definitely keep going with the tutorials!
i totally miss your lolita days!
Heehee I’m surprised anyone remembers my lolita days!
OMFG AMAZING
^_^ Thank you!
I think it is entirley possible that you should be made the next Australian of the Year for your AMAZING DIY pieces! You never cease to amaze me with the way your mind works and your wallet doesn’t have to. I think I’m going to have to write a memo to HRH the Queen now…
ROFL! I told you we would take over the world one day :D I’ll be eagerly waiting by the post box for my telegram from the Queen!
I would totally pay you to make one for me, lol XD
Awesome idea!
Aww that’s so sweet of you!
Lovely tutorial~ The cancan hat is gorgeous!
All your tutorials are amazing! You really know how to use what you have to make the best of them :)
Thank you so much Becky! I love making pretty things out of what seems like junk!
Loved this tutorial and went out and did it myself. Heres the link to my blog where i posted my hat transformation.
http://ruffandtumble.livejournal.com/16540.html
I included a link to your tutorial. Hope thats okay. Many thanks for being inspiring. love your work. xx
Oh that’s fantastic! Would you like me to add one of the photos with a link to my Reader’s Gallery? You did such a great job!
Hi Violet,
Here is a link to my hat that I did according to your tutorial. Unfortunately I didn’t take a before shot.
http://www.modernvintagegirl.com/2010/06/red-hats-for-red-heads.html
Oh that is LOVELY! I will add you to the gallery and make a proper comment as soon as I get the net back up properly >_< Seriously love it and you look fantastic!
I love the hat. It’s really cute especially on a hot summer day.
Thanks very much ^_^ I’m glad you enjoyed the tutorial :)
I think the hat is adoreable but your outfit and hair are a shame, sorry just being honest.
Haha thank you for commenting about the hat! As for my hair and outfit, I wasn’t aiming for anything other than comfortable so I think it’s a fine look :) You’re most definitely entitled to your opinion and thanks for taking the time to comment honestly anyway ^_^