Sew a Witch Hat (Tutorial)

A good witch costume needs a great hat to be complete, and this tutorial will show you how to make one.

Fabric for the Witch Hat

I am using a nonwoven fabric in black color for my hat. It is slightly stiff and thick enough not to want a stabilizer/ interfacing or batting inside to stand on its own. But this material is not washable or iron-able.

You can use any fabric that is stiff to make this hat. If your fabric needs to be stiffer, use the interfacing to make it look stable and not floppy. Felt, flannel, and upholstery fabrics are good choices. You can also use canvas as interlining. If your brim is very wide and you want it to look stiff, you may have to use a thin metal wire inside the brim.

Sewing tutorial for the witch hat

Step 1.

Cut out two circles – anything from 14 inches to 22 inches can work as the brim of a witch hat.

Step 2. 

Mark the inner circle. This can be anything from 5 inches to 8 inches in diameter. This circle should be big enough for it to rest on top of your head without any other fastener. 

Step 3.

Cut out the inner circles from the two big circles. 

Find the circumference of your inner circle, by multiplying the diameter of the circle with 3.14.

If the diameter of your circle is 4, Multiply this with 3.14. You get 12.56. Now you need a fabric piece for the top to match this circumference. 

Step 4.

You need two triangle shaped fabric pieces for the top part of the witch hat. The base of these triangle pieces should fit the circumference of the inner circle you have cut earlier.

After drawing a rectangle shape with the sides in the height you want (I used 18 inches), mark its base according to the circumference of the inner circle. Add 1/2 inch to the circumference and then mark the line as a curve. 

Cut two such pieces, for the inner hat and the outer hat. 

Step 5.

Fold the triangle piece by the middle, bringing the edges together. 

Step 3.

Sew the edges together. Do this for the other triangle piece as well, forming two conical shapes that make the top of the witch’s hat. Use a 1/4 inch seam allowance for this.

Step 6.

This conical piece has to be sewn to the inner circle of the circle. 

Keep the two pieces right sides together and sew the edges together. You may want to baste stitch by hand to prevent the fabric pieces from shifting as you sew by the machine. 

Do not forget to clip the seam allowance for smooth turning.

The hat will look like this. You need inner hat and outer hat. 

Make the other part of the hat as well the same way.

Step 7.

Keep one hat right side out and one wrong side out.

Insert one hat inside the other, so that rightsides are together to the inside. 

Sew the two hats together at the outer edge of the circles. Leave 2 inches unstitched as you sew (to turn the hat right side out)

Bring the hat right side out through the hole you have. If you want a stiff brim, insert the metal wire at this point.

Stitch the edges of the brim by top stitching.

Traditionally black is considered as the color of a witch’s clothing including hats. You can add your own flair to the hat by adding colorful net to tie around the hat.

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