After last October when I posted my friend Sarah’s How to Make Your Very Own Fabulous Witch Hat, I made my own witch hat with fabric and craft remnants for my Loblolly Pine Witch costume. I had so much fun with it, I had to make more, and decided I’d make one for each season! Here’s how I made my spring witch hat, inspired by fields of Texas wildflowers. I’ve also shared a free downloadable pattern of my witch hats at the end of this post.
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Image: David R. Tribble https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10100551 
Image: https://www.wildflower.org/texas
This will be my third botanical witch costume in a series of four seasons, all inspired by plants found in the Houston area. I’ve chosen the bluebonnet, the state flower of Texas, as inspiration for this spring’s witch costume. And I made the witch hat to reflect and honor the wildflowers seen along Texas highways in the spring, a lasting conservation effect of Lady Bird Johnson’s Highway Beautification Act of 1965.
[Related: Costuming a Loblolly Pine Witch and Making My Holly Witch Hat]
Materials Shopping List
This project used felt, burlap, a mid-19th century reproduction buckle, and commissioned felt flowers by an artist on Etsy. More on the flowers later in this post.
White felt (1 yard): 100% Acrylic FELT-1001, 72″ WD X 1 YD – White
Burlap fabric (1 yard): LA Linen Roll Burlap Fabric, 40-Inch Wide by 1-Yard Long, Natural, 1 yd Folded
16 gauge wire: Beadsmith 16 Gauge Tarnish Resistant Copper Wire, 7.3m/8 yd, Gold
Burlap ribbon: FloraCraft Burlap Garland 5 Inch x 10 Yard Natural
Buckle: Reproduction buckles from Ensembles of the Past on Etsy
This hat went together so fast! I mean, it is my third witch hat, but it is relatively simple.
In the original witch hat post, Sarah followed a YouTube video for the cutting and construction of her hat. I’ve made mine slightly different, from a pattern that I made and is posted below. Here’s how I constructed mine:
- I cut three cones (burlap, felt, cotton liner) and three circles (burlap, felt, cotton liner) from the pattern. I basted the liner to each burlap piece.
- I removed and discarded the inner circle on both burlap and felt circle pieces.
- With right sides together, I stitched the cone at the back seam and turned the cone right side out.
- Then with right sides together I stitched the two circles (top and bottom) together along the outside circumference, and turned the brim right sides out.
- To keep the hat from being too floppy, I inserted craft wire along the edge of the brim between the two circles and zigzag stitched it in place.
- Then I pinned the cone to the brim and stitched the two together. The seam allowance can be folded up into the cone, so it’s okay if it looks messy on the inside.
- Trim! See below…
In prior witch hats, I used organza and satin ribbon for trim, but I wanted to keep this hat as neutral and simple as possible. I used wide burlap ribbon around the crown, and slipped the buckle in place before hot gluing the burlap to the hat. Then I constructed a simple bow for the back of the hat using the same burlap ribbon. And onto the flowers…
I reached out to a felt artist on Etsy about making a selection of Texas wildlfowers for this project, and I was thrilled that Astrid was thrilled to make them for me. She does incredible work and you should really check out and favorite her shop on Etsy. I am amazed at her creations!
Treehouse Felt Flowers on Etsy
Bluebonnet 
Firewheel 
Texas Thistle 
Mexican Hat 
Brown-eyed Susan (L) and Blackfoot Daisy (R) 
Indian Paintbrush 
Sunflower 
Buttercup
Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis, blooms Mar-May
Firewheel, Gaillardia pulchella, blooms Mar-Aug
Texas Thistle, Cirsium texanum, blooms Apr-Aug
Mexican Hat, Ratibida columnifera, blooms May-Oct
Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta, blooms Jun-Oct
Blackfoot Daisy, Melampodium leucanthum, blooms Mar-Nov
Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa, blooms Mar-May
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus, blooms May-Nov
Buttercup/Pink Evening Primrose, Oenothera speciosa, blooms Feb-Jul
As soon as they came in the mail I grouped them in little clusters and temporarily arranged them around the hat, just kind of figuring out what would look best. And now for the really fun part…
Permanantly hot gluing the flowers to the hat was so satisfying! Most stems were clipped, except the bluebonnet, which needed all the little wires in tact to keep those petals in place. So that stem got curled and tucked under the bow. Burlap provided the perfect porous medium for the felt, so gluing was easy and completely hidden. I’m so in love with these flowers and just over the moon at Astrid’s work! (if I had to pick…the buttercups are my favorite)
What do you think? I’m still working on the bluebonnet skirt, which is a lot of felt, paint, and bead work. When it is finished, hopefully next month, I’ll post that here.
Download my PDF Loblolly Witch Hat pattern here: WitchHatRSRW
Disclaimer: my pattern makes a very tall, very pointy hat, and fits a size small-medium head…so make a mock-up and adjust accordingly!
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