This party hat was made exactly the same as the Happy Halloween orange crepe paper hat in our instructions but for the tassel. Instead of fluffing it into a pom-pom, we just slightly fanned out the tassel and added a strip of Dresden border trim to cover the thread.

The hat's crown was decorated with a scattering of silver stars to suggest an Autumnal night sky. Using a variety of sizes and styles of silver Dresden stars, we randomly glued them onto the crown of the hat.

To decorate the hatband, we used our Halloween Night Witches streamer, which was cut down on both the top and bottom so that it measures just 1¾” wide. After gluing on the streamer, Dresden border trim in silver was added to neaten the edges. Lastly, we created a decorative rosette using a filigree silver Dresden medallion that was backed by a circle of black paper, then encircled it with a frill of fringed white crepe paper. The final finishing touch is the "moon face" Dresden, which is actually a smiling sun Dresden with the rays trimmed off!

This hat may look complicated to make, but it is actually quite easy to craft. Complete your hat to step 11. Instead of adding a crepe streamer to the hatband, you will be gluing on a strip of our extra-large paper lace border trim in gold. First, cut down the width of the paper lace trim so that it measures 2¼" high. Next, add glue to the entire height of the paper lace, from the bottom all the way up to the scalloped edge. When gluing on this trim, center it evenly on the front, making sure that the crepe paper on the crown section adheres firmly to the top scallops of the paper lace trim. This is what creates the hat's unique, slightly flattened shape.

To decorate the lacy hatbrim, we added a variety of Dresden embellishments, including starflowers which were painted black, then centered with silver Dresden daisies that have colored centers drawn on using a permanent marker. A strip of black paper, accented using a gold petite points Dresden border, encircles the bottom of the hat.

This hat's crowning glory is its uniquely shaped tassel. Don't "fluff" open the tassel, but gently press the fringe together, then fan it out so that it creates its semi-circular shape. A gold Dresden medallion features our grinning pumpkin sticker.

Our fabulous feline hat is an example of a party hat made with a rounded crown. To craft this style of hat, you won't be using any of the crepe streamers; all you need is a sheet of crepe paper and a strip of cardstock for the hatband.

Follow the instructions up to step 2, then skip to steps 7 and 8. After completing these steps, you are ready to create the rounded crown of the hat. First, gently push the top end of the crepe paper down through the center of the hat until it sticks out a bit below the cardstock hatbrim. Next, evenly gather together the top end, and tie it together about ¾” in from the edge. Lastly, push the tied end back up through the hatbrim to form a smooth-topped crown for your hat.

To create the strikingly-graphic face of this black cat, we used colored cover-weight, 67 lb. paper, but you can also use sturdy construction paper. We made the face by cutting out different colors of paper for each feature, then glued the pieces together before affixing them to the hat. You can also paint all of the features on heavy paper, then cut them out. The cat's ears were made from triangles of black paper that have rounded, not straight, sides. We then folded the ears in half vertically, and glued in smaller triangular pieces of pale pink paper. Design tip: make sure to position each piece exactly where you want it before gluing it down, because crepe paper can be damaged quite easily and it will show glue marks!

The collar is a 7/8" wide piece of heavyweight orange paper that we trimmed with strips of gold Dresden border. The decorated collar was then glued onto the hatbrim "neck," starting and ending in the front. The connection seam was covered with a large Dresden button.

Design tip: to add a slightly more realistic look to your cat hat, tuck a ¾” wide, tri-folded strip of paper down between the hatband and the entire body of the hat. This pushes the body of the hat in and helps create a "neck" just above the collar.

The inspiration for this hat was a vintage papier-mâché pumpkin of the type made in Germany in the 1920's and 30's. Do note that the crepe paper we used is goldenrod in order to replicate the color often used for German jack-o'-lanterns.

Follow the instructions up to step 2, then skip to steps 7, 8 and 9. After completing these steps, you are ready to create the rounded crown of the hat with its "pumpkin stem" topper. First, tie off the gathered crepe paper about 1¾” down from the top edge using strong thread. Next, take both ends of the thread and wind them around this top section of crepe paper, shaping it into a graduated stem by pulling the thread tighter as you wind up the stem. Tie the thread about ¼" down from the top. Finish the stem by coloring the flat top surface brown (we used a marking pen), then cover the length of the stem with brown crepe paper. For a more natural look, bend the stem slightly to add a curve, then attach the waxed leaves and a spiraled wire tendril.

The features of the face were made using a combination of free-drawn and traced shapes. We used colored cover-weight, 67 lb. paper, but any heavier stock paper is just fine. Design tip: drawing templates are a quick and easy way to trace perfectly even shapes! Made of thin plastic with shapes cut in them, we used a combination ellipse template for the eyes. To make the googly eyes, use a black medium-point marker to trace inside the ellipse template; cut out just around the black outline. For the irises, use a blue marker to trace an ellipse shape on lighter blue paper, then cut out small black ellipse pupils; glue the pieces together. The nose and mouth have outlines made using a dark purplish-red marker; the teeth were drawn on with a red medium-point marker.

To complete the face, add eyebrows cut from black paper; the expressive "wrinkles" that add so much character to this jack-o'-lantern party hat were cut from a dark purplish-red paper.

The neck band was made from a 1" wide strip of green paper with a glued-on strip of darker green paper and our petite fleur-de-lis Dresden border.

The flattened crown of this party hat gives it a unique look that is quite stylish, and especially suited for male partygoers.

To flatten the crown, you will need a piece of cardstock or heavy paper. If you are making our standard, 22" circumference hat, then you will need a cardstock strip that measures 8½" long by 1½" wide; if the hat you are making is larger or smaller then you will need to adjust the length accordingly. Fold over each end of the cardstock strip by ½". The next step is to glue this support into the inside of the hat: attach the strip across the inside the hat, about ½" up from the bottom edge of the hatband. Add glue to the central, top surface of the cardstock strip, then gently press down the crown of the hat until it adheres securely to the cardstock support.

To complete this hat, glue on a strip of our batty pumpkins crepe streamer, first trimming its edges back to the black borders so that it measures just 2" wide. Lastly, fan open the tassel and add a ¼" wide strip of black paper or doubled piece of crepe paper to cover the juncture where the tassel abuts the crown of the party hat.