Introduction: Burton's Mad Hatter Hat

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About: Born and raised in Juarez México I have a degree in visual arts and have been involved in the scene for years now, I love to act and usually help in the design and building of costumes and sets.

This are instructions to make the Mad Hatter Hat from the new Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Step 1: Cardboard Box

The size of the cardboard will be the measurement of your head, remember to add half to one extra inch of size so that it can fit over the wig.
How tall you want it is up to you, I made it the size of my head and a half, after this cut strips about an inch or 2 apart. DO NOT go all the way through the cardboard except on the bottom and top tabs that will be used to glue the top and the visor.

Step 2: Make Cylinder

Fold it and tape from the inside so that you end up with a cylinder, you will get a good idea of how tall it will be from here, just remember you will loose about 2-3 inches when you expand it.

Step 3: Make Expansion

Once  you have it taped cut through the strips to a little more than half way down the hat, then bend each strip outwards so that you end up with something like this.

Step 4: Top Part and Visor

Cut a large circle, this circle will give your hat its size on the top, to measure according. Cut 2 of this circles, one will serve of that expansion the other as the main cover. Then using the cylinder trace the circle to be cut out of the visor part, draw another circle the same size as the top circles and draw the sides so that it has an oval shape you should end up with this.
NOTE: Use the circle and trace the pattern on the cloth that will be used to cover the hat, do the same with the visor, but trace it twice, one for the top part  and one for the bottom. You should do this now because it will be very hard to do this once the hat is assembled.  

Step 5: Glue Visor

To put it together  insert the hat into the visor and then just fold the tabs and glue on the bottom using hot glue sticks.

Step 6: Top Part

The circle for the top should hold by itself right where the tabs fold, inserting the top part will give your hat the expanded look, now just glue the tabs on preferably by gluing one then its opposite counterpart. This will help keep your top centered.

Step 7: Almost Done (not Really)

Once this is done glue your second top circle on top so that it will cover the tabs and it will give the top of your hat a smooth look.
Now take your hat and using a water bottle wet the edges of the visor, wait till it is completely wet and fold upwards, use something heavy to keep the folds in place and wait until it has completely dried, this way you will get the folded edges look of the hat.

Step 8: Cloth

Buy a green patterned cloth of your choice, first glue the top circle that you all ready cut, glue the excess to the sides of the hat. For the body of the hat cut your cloth into strips then into squares and glue one by one. I found out using a prit stick worked best and it is less messy. After this is done glue the bottom part of the visor folding the excess onto the top of the visor, then glue the top and then just trim, Wrap a salmon colored scarf to the hat it should hang down all the way to the back.

Step 9: Details

Glue buttons onto coat hangers and stick them into the hat, I also glued some feathers to the other side and finally add the 10/6 card and you are done (the 10/6 is the price of the hat by the way)
Now you have the hat on the last step you will see my whole costume and I'll tell you about the clothing.

Step 10: Complete Costume

For the rest of the costume I got everything from a thrift store, brown coat, colorful vest, salmon shirt, black with bright accents scarf/bow, striped pants and extra scarfs to pin to the coat. I used about 24 thread spools that are held together with yarn to make the "bullet belt" on the chest and the wig is a regular orange clown afro wig that I straightened with a  regular hair straightener, and that is it.
Good Luck and remember Why is a raven like a writers desk?




Because Poe wrote on both

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