Party top-hat made of playing cards

I always thought about playing cards being a great material for DIY projects and one of the things I pictured in my had to look very natural if made of playing cards is a top-hat for parties.

I had to look into Wikipedia to get real name for the hat (it's called "cylinder" in russian) and I still might have some parts named incorrectly - english is not my native, it's also my first instructable so please don't judge too hard. I'll greatly appreciate all corrections.

Step 1 Get playing cards and stapler

First you need to get several decks of playing cards and a stapler.

The fastest way is to go to closest pharmacy - they always have different decks for sale (for some reason I like classic Bicycle decks for these projects).

You can also buy decks in bulk in your closest Costco, BJ's club or similar.

Most popular decks have red or blue backs and regular pocker faces but if you have some special project and you know where to look, you can find black backs, white (yes, empty) faces or even some colored ones.

As for stapler, you can buy the simplest one as I did or go for signature staplers like this red swingline stapler from Office Space movie.

Comments

[Appollo64]

Great idea for making the hats, but step nine isn't really necessary, is it?

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Yes, it's not really necessary except that it hides the staple ends and will not tangle your hair and scratch you.

[weaverowns]

what i found worked really well was stapelling an old beanie and putting that so the edges just come out from the tube part makes it very comfortable and i made my hat a little too big and it also sorted out that problem but thanks for the instructable

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Yeah, that would make edges soft and easy to wear.
Can you post photos?

[weaverowns]

i havent finished the underside of the brim yet but as soon as i do i will. its so annoying having a big head as ive already gone through 2 packs of cards

[weaverowns]

here you go its not as neat as yours but oh well and i gave it a trial run through town earlier and got some odd looks but people seemed to like it http://www.instructables.com/id/playing-card-hat-mod/

[Dusk Shadows]

wow i have my own top hat i think there awesome
p.s can you put the hat on or will it just fall apart?

[spel3o]

thank you so much! I have a silly hat party to attend tomorrow, and now I am well prepared.

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Cool! Please post some photos from the party!

[juiceboxplus420]

awesome dude i made one and it turned out awesome. i used some Jack Daniel's playing cards for the cylinder part, sorry no pics yet but when i do ill be sure to post them. Great Instructable!

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Post the photos when you have a chance ;) Jack Daniel's sounds awesome!

[VogelYogel]

This is a great instructable! It inspired me to make a matching suit out of cards. I've made the jacket, all I need to do is make pants and a bow-tie and I'll be the snazziest dressed person in the universe!

PS: If you try curling up the brim, you can get this nice Mad-Hatter curl to it. Looks more like a top hat.

PPS: No, I am not planning to put up an instructable for the suit, but if you use the basic principles in this instructable, you can do very well!

PPPS: Line the suit with duct-tape, and make the joints out of duct tape. Those are my instructables.

GREAT INSTRUCTABLE!

[Purple Guy]

Could you post any pictures?
thanks,

[badideasrus]

here's my top hat. it came out pretty well. (i'm not sure how to use pics exactly.... i've uploaded them, but i'm not sure of the results so they may not show.....)


and my brother's fedora, which i made as a present.

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Great! Any ideas what went wrong with Fedora? Any ways you think it can be improved?

[badideasrus]

i think that the curves were made wrong. if the top were alittle better made, and it sloped more, i think it would have come out better.... also, i was using cheap paper cards. plastic bicycle card may hold their shape better than the paper. also, paper cards have a tendancy to crease instead of .... 'round'? to curve...., which made the top part rather dificult. if i had to say, i'd say my fedora hat looked more like one of those hats people wear on safari..... not much like a fedora. also, when connecting the two ends of the sides in the front, i had to rip the card so that it would bend and yet still have the flared brim.... a better look may have been to use two cards, one for brim and one for connecting piece..... look at the bottom pic if you don't understand....(i'm not much good with words....)

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Yeah, plastic cards are more sturdy. Also, top-hat has less curves and that's why fedora is harder to make.

[badideasrus]

i agree, though i think the plastic cards would be more apropriate because they wouldn't crease, not because they are stronger (though that is a bonus....)

[Sergey Chernyshev]

And they don't have to be plastic - plastic-coated is enough.

[kenny94]

If only i could figure out how to make a playing card fedora....

[badideasrus]

i made one.... but it didn't turn out so great.... look at my post up above.

[Sergey Chernyshev]

It's probably not that hard, but will requite quote a lot of planning.

[badideasrus]

........... why can't i reply to myself? oh well

first, the fedora. i'm actually rather disapointed in it, but oh well, it was worth a shot. still going to give it to him ;)

now, a tip for the topper. be very careful about letting the cards overlap as you go down the rows. because of the bend in the top peice, the cards all want to pull towards the center, meaning that (especially if you have 3 or more rows) the opening for your head will be too small. i have to make do with a very tight hat....

[willabeast]

YAY I MADE ONE!!!! i did it with the cards facing outwards which looked quite cool :-D I'm wearing it for our housewarming tonight THANKS!!!

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Hey, post some photos here! It's great to see this instructable working for so many people! Sergey

[tay81]

This is so cool - I know it's been around for a few years now - but I was looking for a different sort of hat for a Mad Hatter's tea party this weekend... I made mine in just a few hours, and then I bought some embellishments for the side to jazz it up - I love it! Thanks for great instructions (though I did get a little confused re: step 3 as I wasn't too sure how to make the flat top curved - but I worked it out!) I used only the black & white suits - so I ended up using about 4 packs (used the red suits for the anchoring parts and as an extra layer on the brim) but the end product looks mighty fabulous if I don't say so myself!

[Sergey Chernyshev]

That's awesome - Mad Hatter's version is pretty good idea! Great work!

[Your Average Guy]

I am making this as we speak. (it's awesome, original idea) This is perfect, because we have a Vegas-themed school dance soon. Hahahaha, I collect hats, this will be a perfect addition. Thank you, this instructable has very clear directions and pictures.  :P

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Great! Post your photos when you're done! ;)

[lollerskates]

How did you measure it out so that it properly fit on your head?
I'm guessing you just took the inside of the brim and checked that on your head right?

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Yeah, basically, last line in step 2:
www.instructables.com/id/Party-top-hat-made-of-playing-cards/step2/Attaching-cards-for-the-top/

[melodicmetallove]

If you make the hat with the cards sideways (especially the brim), it takes a lot less cards; like just over one deck rather than 2.5 decks.

 

[Jake Turner]

Hey Sergey, excellent Instructable. Don't worry about your English, it's better than that of many people who post here. I made the hat with 2 and a half decks in about 3 hours. It complements my strange sense of style quite nicely. Of course there's photos. Thanks for posting this!

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Oh, I don't know how I missed your post! It turned out great and with that secret Ace, it's just perfect.

[ipwnumore]

what do u mean by take out 1 staple to get it back to flat form?

[Sergey Chernyshev]

Basically, you need to break a pipe that you used to measure if it'll fit your head before you can continue.

[ipwnumore]

what do u mean?

[Jedi Ronin]

I think I'll make one and wear it to poker this weekend...

[trevyboy]

im so gonna make one, should i put the backs of the cards facing out or the front of the card?

[how_may_i_help_you]

....Awesome. And good work for your first Instructable