This mini top hat free pattern and tutorial uses a template to make this accessory possible. 
Cute and chic, these mini top hats are all the rage. Whether you’re into Steampunk, Burlesque or classic Victorian this Mini Top Hat is the crowning piece to your costume. Make the perfect mini top hat in the perfect size that you want. Sew and No sew options available.
The Large Hat is approx. 5.75 inches high and 8.5 inches at the brim
The Medium hat is approx. 4.5 inches high and 6.5 at the brim
The Small hat is approx.3.5 inches high and 4.5 wide at the the brim
The Mini Hat is approx. 3 inches high and 4 inches wide at the brim
Materials you will need:
1/4 yard polar fleece or felt
Items to decorate you hat (feathers, ribbon, tulle, brooches)
Barrette Clips or combs
Hot glue gun
thread (for sew option)
spray on adhesive (for no sew option)
The .pdf pattern printed on card-stock.
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Download the free pattern here. tutorial below!
You can get a free copy of Adobe reader here. By downloading you are agreeing to pattern terms of use. Click the picture of the pattern envelope to download the .pdf !
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Video tutorial here, written below:
No sew version of the hat
No sew will work for all the hats sizes. However, it works best for the small and mini sizes of hat.
1- Cut out the Pattern
You can find instructions on how to assemble the pattern here.
You will need to print the pattern onto card stock as the pattern will become part of the hat . Cut out the and assemble the pattern – be sure to tape the front and the back of the pattern seams (where the paper overlaps) .
Trace the pattern onto the cloth using a marking pen (or even a regular pen – as long as it doesn’t bleed through the fabric. Be sure to trace the brim twice; one with a hole in the center and one without.
Then cut down all the pattern pieces to the dotted line.
2 – Prep all the pieces
You now have four pieces of fabric cut out. set the brim piece that does not have a hole in the center aside.
Spray the back side of the card stock with glue and center on each piece (there should be about a.5 allowance all the way around – except for the hole in the center of the brim. That should just line up with the fabric.
Using a glue gun, fold over the excess fabric and glue down along all the edges of the pieces with the exception of the brim pieces.
Note: I did this differently in the example – but trust me it will look better if you do it later – I’ll tell you when.
3 – Assemble the wall
Taking the wall piece, gently fold it around so the two ends barely over lap. Glue ends together, be sure to hold it for a while to secure or use a clothes pin or clip to hold it in place.
4 – Add the top of the hat
Once the wall is secure it’s time to add the top of the hat. Using your glue gun, glue around the the top part of the wall, just barley on the inside place top on glue hold in place to secure for a few seconds.
5 – Add the first piece of the brim.
Place glue on the bottom of the wall of the hat (lining up the bottom circles) and press firmly onto the brim. You may need to hold this for several seconds to ensure it is well glued.
Tip: Place the seam where you will adding all your feathers and tulle – that way it can be covered. In my example I placed the seam slightly to the right of the of the front. The brim is an oval shape – the sides should be the thinest part of the oval and the brim should be wider at the front and back of the hat.
For extra support tape a few pieces of tape between the brim and the wall of the hat.
6 – Finish Assembling the Hat
Using your glue gun, place glue on the brim card board and place remaing piece of the brim on it, sealing off the hat. Then Using glue all along the edge of the brim fold over .5 excess of cloth to finish off.
Note: Excess is already folded over in the example in the picture, but it will make a nicer edge if you do it this way.
Add a couple of clips or a comb to make it so it can stay in place. You can glue them directly or use a scrap of fleece to glue them on. You could also use a length of elastic thread and make it stay on the head like a party hat.
Now comes the fun part….
7 – Add some personality
This for me is the best part! Add ribbon, tulle, beading, feathers, buttons, brooches, glitter, you name it and make this hat your own. I used tulle, feathers, ribbon and a button in the example. Old jewelry would work well too. Sky is the limit and your creativity reigns – what will your hat look like? Send me a picture ([email protected]) or feel free to post it to the Fleece Fun facebook page!
Some other ideas for this hat –
Trace the pattern onto scrapbook paper and make hats from paper for an even cheaper alternative.
Put together hat making “kits” for party guests to make their own mini top hat (great for New years Eve parties, birthday parties, girl’s night.)
The Mini size is so stinkin’ cute on little girls and babies – awesome for photos (even better when paired with the “Fun and Frilly Skirt” get the free tutorial here.
Dress up a forgotten stuffed animal – and give an old toy new life.
Sew Version of the hat (best for medium and large)
1- Cut out the pattern.
If the thought of using a glue gun for everything makes you cringe here is a sew option for you. You will need to print the pattern onto card stock as the pattern will become part of the hat . Cut out the and assemble the pattern – be sure to tape the front and the back of the pattern seams (where the paper overlaps) .
Trace the pattern onto the cloth using a marking pen (or even a regular pen – as long as it doesn’t bleed through the fabric. Be sure to trace the brim twice with a hole in the center.
Then cut down all the card stock pattern pieces to the dotted line.
Note: to make the hat extra sturdy you may want to consider gluing the carstock to poster board and cutting out the poster board wit the card stock. The card stock with teh posterboard will make for a much sturdier hat.
2 – Begin to sew
With right sides together pin fold the wall in half and pin ends.
Sew ends together using a .5 seam allowance. trim down seam
3 – Add the Top
With right side facing down (right sides together) pin the top on to the top of the wall ( the wider end). sew together using a .5 seam allowance then trim down the seam.
Set aside.
4 – Sew the brim
With rights sides together sew the outer edge of the brim together using a .5 seam allowance. Trim down the seam after finished to eliminate bumps.
5 – Sew the Brim to the rest of the hat
With right sides together pin ONE side of the brim to the wall of the hat (see picture). Sew together using a .5 seam allowance. Trim down the seam after finished to eliminate bumps.
Tip: Place the seam of the wall where you are planning on adding your decorations. This will allow the seam to be covered.
Note: The reason you sew on one side of the brim is to allow you to insert card board into the brim later.
6- Insert the hat form.
Piece by piece insert the hat form starting with the top of the hat. you will need to bend each piece a little when inserting, this is why card stock and poster board works but a harder cardboard would not.
Roll up the wall and insert it into the hat. Line up the seam of the wall with the seam of the hat. Tape the cardstock seam in place and tape the wall to the top.
Flip brim right side out and carefully work in the brim piece (you may need to cut a couple of small slits in the under brim to get this to work.
On brim form is in place tape it to the wall.
Now decorate your hat!This for me is the best part! Add ribbon, tulle, beading, feathers, buttons, brooches, glitter, you name it and make this hat your own. I used tulle, feathers, ribbon and a button in the example. Old jewelry would work well too. Sky is the limit and your creativity reigns – what will your hat look like? Send me a picture ([email protected]) or feel free to post it to the Fleece Fun facebook page!
Lisette A. says
June 7, 2012 at 4:51 amHello,
I would really like to create a mini top hat, but I’m having a lot of trouble downloading your pattern?? I already have the pdf creator downloaded to my computer. Would you be able to email it to me?
Thanks!
Lisettte
Angel says
June 7, 2012 at 1:34 pmHi Lisette!
The files are up and functioning properly.
First try the following and see if it helps:
Clear your internet cache, if that doesn’t work
try a different internet browser.
Double check the settings on your computer’s pdf program for internet file downloads.
Troubleshoot this first so you won’t need to ask for every pattern. =)
nancy says
June 8, 2012 at 10:16 amI’m having lots of trouble with the download — McAfee tells me the software is harmful.
Angel says
June 8, 2012 at 1:40 pmYou need to use Adobe pdf – I don’t recommend any other software. You can find adobe here – http://get.adobe.com/reader/ to download the pattern – click on the pattern envelope.
shiny says
July 5, 2012 at 12:44 amI am very interest to your works mam,
You are very genius mam
Your reply is not to me
I am waiting for your loving reply mam
loving
shiny
tabitha says
July 12, 2012 at 10:52 amThank you so much for this!
🙂
Angel says
July 12, 2012 at 4:04 pmYou’re welcome Tabitha! =)
Lynn says
July 16, 2012 at 10:56 pmThese are adorable! Thanks you so much for creating and sharing. You’re very talented!!
Angel says
July 17, 2012 at 7:57 amHi Lynn!
Thank you for the compliment!
Kim says
July 24, 2012 at 3:52 pmHi, I just started this and love the pattern but was wondering once it’s done, what do I attach to it to make it wearable? I didn’t see that in the instructions…did I miss something ? Thank you!
Angel says
July 25, 2012 at 1:06 pmHi Kim!
A couple of alligator clips or a comb to the bottom will work to keep it secure on the head.
Kim says
August 22, 2012 at 8:14 pmJust wanted to pop in and say thank you for this! This will be the perfect accessory for my Halloween costume this year! Huzzah! 🙂
Kirsty says
September 9, 2012 at 3:30 amHi, Cannot wait to start on this project. Which size hat was made in the tutorial??
Its a fantastic project…you cannot buy one of these for less than £10 in the store 🙂
Angel says
September 10, 2012 at 9:37 amHi Kirsty!
The one that I made (in the brown) is the mini size. The one one the model is the small size. I bet your mini hat will turn out cuter than the one in the stores and save you a few Quid in the process!
Best of luck with your project,
Angel
Cara says
September 12, 2012 at 10:37 amHi, This is an absolutely fab project. Is it possible to make a mini bowler hat too?
Angel says
September 12, 2012 at 10:49 amHI Cara!
The bowler is more difficult because of the dome shape of the hat. What you might try is getting a paper bowl, gluing felt to it and fashioning a brim from there.
– Angel
Tuffet says
September 16, 2012 at 2:51 pmI just made one of the minis in powder blue and pale pink and it is just. so. darn. CUTE!!!!! It was absolutely perfect for the Alice in Wonderland photo shoot I did with my kids! Thank you so much for such a wonderful tutorial as well!
Erica says
September 20, 2012 at 11:24 pmSuper excited to try these patterns. I am wanting a professional finish so I am thinking that the sew version would be best. I only wish the video tutorial showed the sew version as well. Is there a link to that?
Angel says
September 21, 2012 at 7:05 amHi Erica!
No there isn’t a video – Just the written instructions.
– Angel
Anne says
September 29, 2012 at 10:18 amHi Angel,
the patterns and the tutorial are great and I can’t wait to try them out!
I had a little problem, though. As it was impossible to use the measuring tool in Adobe Acrobat or open the PDF in InDesign or Photoshop, it was rather hard to find out the exact sizes of each hat if I didn’t want to print it all out first.
So would it be possible for you to post the approx. height/circumferences here somewhere?
Thank you and keep on doing great stuff!
Angel says
October 26, 2012 at 12:58 pmHi Anne,
sizes for the hats have been posted on the page.
Thanks,
Angel
Candice says
November 2, 2012 at 12:07 pmI am so excited about these patterns! I am making the pirate hat for all my grandsons and the top hat for my granddaughters! I am going to try both felt and fleece to see which one works best for me….I have both fabrics on hand! You are so incredibly talented and I just wanted to say thank you for sharing with the rest of us!!!
Nicole Shealy says
December 3, 2012 at 8:12 pmOh my goodness!!! I have looked and looked for this everywhere. My son is going to have a mad hatter themed birthday next year and I can’t afford to buy the premade hats and I had the hardest time finding a pattern to make them. You just make me sooooo happy!!! I can’t wait to start making them. He will be two, so I was thinking instead of crazy twos, we’d have mad twos. Thanks so much!!!
Louise says
December 15, 2012 at 1:19 amJust wantecd to say thankyou for the use of your templates as have been able to create a unique and one off mini tophat fascinator to add to my burlesque outfit. I found the templates and instructions easy to use. I have just come back to print off another pattern to make a tophat santa hat. 🙂
Star says
January 14, 2013 at 9:54 pmThese are delightfully adorable! By golly, I think I’ll make for one of our themed events. Thanks so much..gotta run “I’m late for a very important date..” ;0)
Kimberly says
February 21, 2013 at 8:48 amThanks so much for posting this! I love mini top hats, and it will be wonderful to be able to customize them for myself!
Penny says
April 4, 2013 at 5:31 amThank you so much for the well detailed instructions, the hat was quite easy to make! I’m having a Mother’s Day Tea Party and made one for myself, a friend celebrating her b-day, and will raffle one for someone to wear at next year’s event. There are so many options out there for decorating them, too!
Melissa says
April 11, 2013 at 8:26 pmSuper easy pattern to follow, sewed the entire thing, added a veil and sash, and this took less than an hour to complete, totally recommend this pattern to anyone that asks.
Rebecca says
May 29, 2013 at 11:21 pmThank you so much for these hats. I have found other tutorials but they don’t give you a pattern, and the are not as through in their directions. So thank you so much.
Becky says
July 15, 2013 at 2:20 pmOMG this is perfect, I’m just getting back into creating and my daughter (turning 18 in a month :'( ) is in a hat phase, only thing I can’t do atm is print off the patterns! going to get a friend to if he can so I can make these for my baby girls and my nieces.
I just love how simple your tutorials are to follow (some of the others leave me scratching my head) So this is a HUGE Thank you for you’re creativity and work. (p.s. I just want you to know that some of the hats I’ll be making will be sold at a craft/charity sale to help raise money for our Community Living organization that helps families with special needs children)
Angel says
July 19, 2013 at 10:35 pmBecky you’re welcome! Thank you for all the nice compliments. Best of luck with your projects!
LeeAnn says
July 27, 2013 at 9:15 amfound this and these hats are just perfect7… made 14 of them for my 5 year old teaparty birthday and they came out absolutely gorgeous.. Thank you so musch for the great directions…
Angel says
July 28, 2013 at 3:45 pmHow wonderful LeeAnn – glad your project worked out!
michelle says
August 3, 2013 at 5:11 pmthanks so much for posting this! have always wanted to make mini steampunk hats for comiccon. im using the mini template for matching hats for me and my daughter for D23 next weekend to match our polka dot minnie mouse pinup girl dresses. we have polka dotted ribbon and large daisy flowers to go on these. should look cute!
Michaella says
September 13, 2013 at 6:41 pmAwesome – thank yo so much!
Jennifer says
September 26, 2013 at 5:40 amThanks so much for this! I made my daughter a silk version for a mad hatter costume, it turned out so cute!
Angel Hickman Peterson says
September 26, 2013 at 11:42 amHi Jennifer!
So happy it worked out for you! Feel free to post a picture of your work of Fleece Fun’s Facebook page!
– Angel
Wendy Smith says
September 30, 2013 at 7:46 amThanks for the great website. I have a question about the sewed version. The .5 seam allowance..is that 1/2 inch?
Angel Hickman Peterson says
September 30, 2013 at 6:45 pmYes it is!
– Angel
Pam says
October 15, 2013 at 10:12 amThank you so much, great tutorial. Can’t wait to try to make one myself.
Gabrielle says
October 19, 2013 at 7:39 amHi, I would love to create this mini top hat, but I don’t have card stock. What is a good replacement?
Angel Hickman Peterson says
October 19, 2013 at 10:18 amTry printing up the patern on regular paper then glue it to a bendable cardboard like a cereal box. 🙂
– Angel
Robyn says
March 21, 2014 at 1:55 pmThank you for this pattern! I just made the large mini top hat for my 2 1/2 year old’s silly hat day at daycare. It was a big hit! She loves wearing her “silly” hat!
Angel Hickman Peterson says
March 21, 2014 at 5:00 pmHow Fun! So glad your project was a success!
Karen says
March 24, 2014 at 11:05 amFinished the medium top hat for the White Rabbit in a high school play. Looks awesome. Thank you for the pattern!
Angel Hickman Peterson says
March 24, 2014 at 2:58 pmWonderful! You’re welcome!
Tammie hauptman says
June 29, 2014 at 6:28 pmI want to do these for my daughter’s birthday. With 72″ felt, how many could be made out of the 1/4 yard the pattern calls for?
Angel Hickman Peterson says
June 30, 2014 at 2:57 pmHi Tammie,
I’m sorry I honestly don’t know. It depends on what size of hat. I would lay out the size you wanted and measure the space it takes up and calculate it that way.
Thanks,
Angel
KChu says
September 3, 2014 at 11:00 pmThank you for this pattern and cute top hat tutorial. I was thinking with a small adjustment making it cone shaped, it can be a witches hat for Halloween. Going to try it out. You saved me so much time trying to figure this one out…thank you again!
Shelley says
October 17, 2014 at 10:37 amJust downloaded your Trapper Hat and have been checking out your other tutorials – the extra ear flap for warmth is excellent here in the mountains. The tuts are well explained and easy to understand. The video is a great asset for anyone making the pattern. Several males in my life are getting a Trapper Hat for Xmas, as am I!
This tutorial is so cute and so topical. I see people headed to parties wearing them. Don’t know how I’ve missed your site. Plan to tell everyone. Thanks for taking time to share your knowledge.
sachie says
November 8, 2014 at 12:59 pmMahalo Angel! your video and all your instructions were so easy to understand and fun. I cant wait to start doing more projects. Will be making this top hat and hopefully post a photo on your fb page. thank you for the free pattern.
Shirley says
December 15, 2014 at 1:53 pmI LOVE THE TOP HAT THAT IS ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE. IT JUST REMINDS ME WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I WERE FIRST MARRIED HE WAS IN THE SERVICE AND WE WERE STATIONED IN JAPAN. WE WERE JUST NEWLYWEDS AND DIDN’T HAVE MUCH MONEY SO I DECIDED TO MAKE ALL MY ORNAMENTS AND THE TREE TOPPER. THE TOPPER OF COURSE WAS A TOP HAT. ALTHOUGH MINE WAS MADE FROM CRAFT FELT AND CARDBOARD IT WAS VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE YOU HAVE DONE HERE. EVERY YEAR AFTER THAT I MADE THE TOPPERS DIFFERENT AND DIFFERENT ORNAMENTS BUT IT WAS VERY SPECIAL TO US. I KNOW LONGER DID THIS AFTER THE KIDS GREW UP AND MOVED ON BUT IT BROUGHT BACK SO MANY MEMORIES FOR ME. THANKS FOR SHARING!
Linda M says
March 16, 2015 at 5:29 pmThanks for this fabulous and accurate pattern! I searched quite a bit and this one is great. I altered a bit and made out of paper in a little larger size. I’m going to use as party favors for my Alice in Wonderland party in June!
Penny says
November 14, 2015 at 12:03 pmHi! I was looking for a top hat pattern for my Poppy Parker doll and came across your marvellous design. I scaled it down to 47% as her head is quite small.
As I don’t own a glue gun (note to self must get one) I decided to sew my hat….feeling very nervous at this stage!
To cut a long story short it’s turned out amazing, I hope to take a photo when the rest of her outfit arrives…trying for the steampunk look. I’ve knitted a cardigan in angora and customised a Sparkle Girlz dress, just waiting for net stockings and black boots.
Hopefully I can show you the finished result soon. A big thank you for such a cute hat. X
Angel Hickman Peterson says
November 14, 2015 at 2:52 pmSo happy to hear of your success!
Icelene Jordan says
January 13, 2016 at 4:02 pmI just Love these little top hats.
I will be making these little hats for my Daughter white tree for next year
Thank you so much
Just Love your ideals
Reagan Ness says
July 29, 2018 at 9:27 pmThese are SO cute (and cool!) I am really into steampunk lately and couldn’t find a free pattern that I could download. Thank you so much!