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Newspaper Hat Making

Newspaper Hat Making

Min number of participants 1
Age 8+ yrs.
Safety support by adult Not required
Min duration 15 min.
Cost None (Free)
Environment Indoor / Outdoor

Fold an old newspaper into a pirate, chef, or soldier hat using just your hands — a quick paper-folding craft that turns yesterday's news into imaginative headwear for solo pretend play at home.

The Essentials

Steps

  1. Lay a full double-page newspaper spread flat and fold it in half from top to bottom, creasing the fold firmly.
  2. Fold the two top corners down to the center crease, forming a triangle shape with a folded strip remaining at the bottom.
  3. Fold the bottom strip up on both the front and back layers, creasing each fold sharply, since crisp folds are what let the hat hold its shape without extra reinforcement.
  4. Open the bottom fold slightly and tuck in the corners to widen the hat's brim before flattening it again, since this is what shapes it into a wearable band rather than a flat cone.
  5. Adjust the fit by gently pulling the sides apart to fit the wearer's head, since newsprint holds a crease well and won't spring back once it has been shaped.

Tips

  • Use a full broadsheet-size page rather than a smaller section, since tabloid-sized paper produces a hat too small to comfortably fit most heads.
  • Reinforce the finished hat with a strip of tape along the bottom fold if it will get heavy use, since plain newsprint tears more easily than card stock.
  • Decorate with paint, markers, or stickers after folding rather than before, since the folding process can smear wet decorations or crack painted sections.
  • Practice the folds with a plain sheet of paper first if you're new to the technique, since newsprint tears more easily than standard paper if you have to unfold and redo a step.
  • Try color newspaper inserts or comic sections for a more decorative result, since regular black-and-white newsprint can look plain compared to a colorful finished hat.
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