Hat Decorating Ideas

Create the Perfect Party Favor- Make Straw Hats!

Here are some hat decorating ideas to create the most awesome party favor ever. I made them for our daughter's Kentucky Derby themed Bridal Shower, but they would be great for a tea party, garden party, an Easter bonnet or even a Halloween costume or decorate yourself for a 4th of July party with a patriotic themed sunhat!

The Kentucky Derby and Fun Hats are synonymous.. so what better favor for our daughter's Derby Day wedding shower, than hats for all the ladies. I bought 50 plain, colored straw hats off an internet wholesale site,like Overstock.com for under $2.00 a piece.. added ribbons, toulle, artificial flowers and leaves and created the most fun and beautiful party favors ever. Decorating hats was a group effort as I enlisted my girlfriends to join me in a hat decorating party. In one afternoon, we made them all and had so much fun!

All you need is a glue gun, some floral wire, ribbons, flowers, buttons or feathers and toulle and you can start decorating hats. The toulle is so inexpensive and easy to use. Just snip off a length.. tie it in a knot and glue it on wherever you want. You can trim the length once it is set. Thin floral wire will help you to create bows of any size, just loop your ribbon back and forth into a s-shape and tie the wire tightly around it. Then pull out the loops of the bow. Wired ribbon is easiest but you can use plain ribbon as well. One of the first hats chosen was the pink and black one below. I simply glued a piece of a boa around the hat and how fantastic it looks!

Here's the special hat we decorated for our bride to be!

With 50 hats.. how to display? We strung some garland and clothespinned the hats across the windows, as you can see in the photo at the top. Not enough room so we just clothespinned the hats on all the curtains too! Make sure to have a mirror handy as everyone begins hat shopping!

These inexpensive, decorated straw hats were the hit of the bridal shower. Just think of all the ways you could use them for other themes. Use these hat decorating ideas for your own Kentucky Derby party, for a garden party, or the easiest group Halloween costume ever! Wouldn't they be adorable for a little girl's birthday tea party too?? Or host an Easter bonnet making party!

See more fun Easter ideas here!

Look at our bride and these adorable Derby Dolls.. so cute!
See how we used this Hat Decorating idea for our daughter's bridal shower!

Look at how cute this patriotic themed decorated hat is - perfect for 4th of July!

For more creative ideas for planning a wedding

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