How to make Dinotopian Explorer's Hat
While Dinotopia is namely a dinosaur-human utopia, it is also a milliner's fantasyland. With such a diversity of clothing styles spanning many cultures and time periods, hats of every shape and size also appear. So in my attempts at creating an original Dinotopia character, I decided to try my hand at millinery.
And here it is with the rest of the costume:
In particular I decided to focus on the variants of bicorns and tricorns. If it doesn't ring a bell, think of the hats fancy British sea captains and dastardly pirates alike would wear in stuff like Pirates of the Carribbean and Master and Commander.
It's hard to get good screenshots of this, but they're a common crowd-filler for some wider shots in the Dinotopia mini-series. You can see them more in the right side of this shot.
There are tons of tutorials on making these types of hats, though it weights more in the tricorn category (because pirates). I liked the simplicity of the design for a first try at hat-making, and with the maroon it has a kind of genteel adventurer vibe. But when I got to experimenting I got curious in adding a fourth corner. Why I'm not sure, but I kind of like the balance. From the front it appears similar to a tricorn, and the fourth corner in the back seems like an interesting twist.
Materials
-Wool-like or felt-like fabric
-Scrap fabric for hatband
-Decorative button
-Cheap or expendable baseball cap (for form)
-White glue/water/spray bottle
Tools
-Scissors
-Needle/thread
-Permanent marker or marking pencil
-Measuring tape
1. Gather the materials
The key ingredient is the fabric, which should have some heft to it like that of natural or synthetic wool or felt. To be honest I'm not quite sure what fabric I used, being scavenged from the remnants pile, but it was thick enough that it doesn't feel flimsy. For the details I used scraps of green upholstery fabric and an extra decorative button.
2. Cut the brim
For the brim of the hat, I decided 5 inches would be more than enough to work with. To that end I positioned the hat (with it sized for my head) on the fabric and traced a 5 inch circle around that.
And then created the space for the dome of the baseball cap pop through, and figured out the necessary radius for the cap. This will be a little different for everyone's head.
3. Creating the square-top crown
To create the square-topped crown, I cut out one 5x5inch square and four 5x6inch rectangles. The square becomes the top, and the rectangles the sides. I pinned the pieces together (with the wrong side of the fabric facing out) and first sewed a running stitch along the 5inch edges of the rectangles to the edges of the square. Then I sewed the edges of the rectangles, leaving the last 2 inches of it free.
Then I turned the 5-sided prism inside out and tested the fit on the cap. The unsewn bottom corners helped ensure the that crown would be able to fit over the top of the baseball cap's crown.
To help stiffen the sides of the crown, spray with a mixture of school glue and water, let dry, and repeat a few times.
4. Attach the brim
Using a whipstitch I joined the inner edge of the brim with that of the crown.
Then I folded four equidistant points of the brim's circle up to the corners of the crown, with a few stitches at each joining to keep them in place. Using pins and bamboo skewers I set the form of the hat, and then stiffened with the glue/water mixture like the crown.
5. Finishing touches
To class it up a bit, I decided to add a hatband and buckle. For the band I used a strip of green upholstery fabric, the same as from the belt pouch. It's about 2 inches wide, with the edges folded under and pressed.
Then I whip-stitched it around the crown of the hat. Be careful though, too tight and it will tighten the fit of the hat.
And finally I sewed on a button that matches the belt pouch I made earlier. Pretty convenient since they came in a 2-pack from Joann Fabrics.
And there you have it, a hat fit for the streets of Dinotopia. Not exactly expert level millinery, but works for my purposes. Good luck and keep crafting!
And here it is with the rest of the costume:
In particular I decided to focus on the variants of bicorns and tricorns. If it doesn't ring a bell, think of the hats fancy British sea captains and dastardly pirates alike would wear in stuff like Pirates of the Carribbean and Master and Commander.
 |
| Two styles of bicorn hats in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World |
 |
| A very battered tricorn in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl |
It's hard to get good screenshots of this, but they're a common crowd-filler for some wider shots in the Dinotopia mini-series. You can see them more in the right side of this shot.
There are tons of tutorials on making these types of hats, though it weights more in the tricorn category (because pirates). I liked the simplicity of the design for a first try at hat-making, and with the maroon it has a kind of genteel adventurer vibe. But when I got to experimenting I got curious in adding a fourth corner. Why I'm not sure, but I kind of like the balance. From the front it appears similar to a tricorn, and the fourth corner in the back seems like an interesting twist.
Materials
-Wool-like or felt-like fabric
-Scrap fabric for hatband
-Decorative button
-Cheap or expendable baseball cap (for form)
-White glue/water/spray bottle
Tools
-Scissors
-Needle/thread
-Permanent marker or marking pencil
-Measuring tape
1. Gather the materials
The key ingredient is the fabric, which should have some heft to it like that of natural or synthetic wool or felt. To be honest I'm not quite sure what fabric I used, being scavenged from the remnants pile, but it was thick enough that it doesn't feel flimsy. For the details I used scraps of green upholstery fabric and an extra decorative button.
2. Cut the brim
For the brim of the hat, I decided 5 inches would be more than enough to work with. To that end I positioned the hat (with it sized for my head) on the fabric and traced a 5 inch circle around that.
And then created the space for the dome of the baseball cap pop through, and figured out the necessary radius for the cap. This will be a little different for everyone's head.
3. Creating the square-top crown
To create the square-topped crown, I cut out one 5x5inch square and four 5x6inch rectangles. The square becomes the top, and the rectangles the sides. I pinned the pieces together (with the wrong side of the fabric facing out) and first sewed a running stitch along the 5inch edges of the rectangles to the edges of the square. Then I sewed the edges of the rectangles, leaving the last 2 inches of it free.
To help stiffen the sides of the crown, spray with a mixture of school glue and water, let dry, and repeat a few times.
4. Attach the brim
Using a whipstitch I joined the inner edge of the brim with that of the crown.
Then I folded four equidistant points of the brim's circle up to the corners of the crown, with a few stitches at each joining to keep them in place. Using pins and bamboo skewers I set the form of the hat, and then stiffened with the glue/water mixture like the crown.
5. Finishing touches
To class it up a bit, I decided to add a hatband and buckle. For the band I used a strip of green upholstery fabric, the same as from the belt pouch. It's about 2 inches wide, with the edges folded under and pressed.
Then I whip-stitched it around the crown of the hat. Be careful though, too tight and it will tighten the fit of the hat.
And finally I sewed on a button that matches the belt pouch I made earlier. Pretty convenient since they came in a 2-pack from Joann Fabrics.
And there you have it, a hat fit for the streets of Dinotopia. Not exactly expert level millinery, but works for my purposes. Good luck and keep crafting!
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