Come create a fun miniature winter hat you can use as a decoration or to keep your stuffed animal warm! Your elementary-school kiddo will love making these miniature winter hats! This activity engages their fine motor skills, creating patterns, counting, and self-expression! These hats are perfect accessories for dolls or stuffed animals or could easily turn into a keychain!
Supplies:
2 colors of yarn
an empty paper towel or toilet paper roll
scissors
Let's Get Started!
Step 1- Let’s start making our fun miniature winter hats! Make sure you are in a comfortable place with all of your materials close by! I sat at my table but for this craft you can sit anywhere that is comfortable for you!
Step 2- The next step will be cutting our loop, which will be the base of our hat. Take your paper towel (or toilet paper) roll and hold the roll in your hand. There are two ways to hold the paper towel roll, either pinching the paper towel roll with your index finger and thumb or wrapping your hand around one end of the roll. Make sure you have a firm grip on the roll so it doesn’t fall as you are cutting. With an adult’s help, cut a vertical line up one side of the paper towel roll, starting on the end opposite of where your hands are. Keep cutting until you have about an inch and half of paper towel roll left (about the size of your thumb), being careful of your fingers! Once you have your slit in the side of the roll, cut your paper towel roll around the outside, starting right above the empty space on your paper towel roll. Keep cutting all the way around and the remaining loop of paper towel roll is the base of your hat! Once you have your loop cut set that aside at the end of your work station.
Step 3- Now that we have our loop, let’s add some yarn! Cut some pieces of yarn (both colors) about six inches in length (the length of six thumbs stacked on top of each other). If you need more yarn as you go, feel free to cut more six inch pieces. Before adding the yarn, decide what pattern you would like your hat to have! Mine switches from one pink to one white, but you can make whatever pattern you would like!
Step 4- Once you have your pattern, take one piece of the colored yarn you would like to start your pattern in one hand and your paper towel loop in the other. Fold the piece of yarn in half and hold the yarn an inch below the fold. Your piece of yarn should have the ends dangling toward the floor with a circle shape above your fingers, looking kind of like an octopus!
Take the circle in the yarn and pull it through the center of the paper towel loop letting the ends hang out the bottom of the loop. Take the two ends of yarn in one hand and the yarn circle in the other. Bring the two ends of yarn up and around the paper towel loop, pulling the ends through the circle of yarn at the top of the paper towel loop.
Pull firmly until you make a knot. Repeat this step with each yarn piece, remembering to switch colors based on your pattern, until your paper towel loop is covered in yarn.
Step 5- Our loop should be covered in yarn with all the knots and ends of our yarn pieces facing the same way. To make the top of our hat, take the ends of our yarn pieces and fold them toward the middle of the paper towel loop. Push each end gently through the middle of the paper towel loop so they come out the other side of the loop. Now, our loop should have all of the knots on one end and all the ends coming through the other end.
Step 6- Finally, we are going to place our hat down on our workspace, with the knots on our flat surface and the loose ends facing the sky. Gather the loose ends together in one hand. Use an extra piece of yarn of any color (cut one if you do not have one already) and tie the yarn around the ends at the top of our loop. Lastly we are going to give the ends at the top of our hat a “haircut!” Cut the ends so that they are all the same length. Now you have a fun miniature winter hat! You can use this as decoration around your room or as a cute accessory for your favorite doll or stuffed animal!
Extra Fun: To make your hat into a keychain, take a six inch piece of yarn (any color will work) and bring the middle of the yarn around the pom-pom top of the hat. Tie a knot with the yarn so you have two ends of equal length. Take the ends of your yarn and tie them together, making a large loop of yarn. With that loop, you can now hang your hat from your keys or your backpack!