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Tutorial: Make a DIY Santa Hat (With Free Template

Create a simple paper Santa hat using our free template. This free template is ready for you to download and print onto red and white cardstock.

This is a relatively simple project, however, do allow three or four hours for cutting the pieces from the cardstock and compiling the hat.

This will be a good first project for people looking to try more complicated paper models.

How to Make the Paper Santa Hat

You will need:

  • Template (download below)
  • Cardstock or heavyweight paper (5 x red, 5 x white of a4/letter
  • Scissors or craft knife
  • Adhesive (I like glue sticks, however normal white glue or wood glue will work well too)
  • Metal ruler or straight edge
  • Bone folder (you will use this for scoring the paper or cardstock and this will help to give you crisp edges to your folds)

Instructions

1/ Download and print the template. Download the template here

Santa Hat Template

You will see that each file page is numbered starting W or R. Print the W on white cardstock and the R on red.

Note how each page is numbered starting W and R (white and red) and how an icon shows which section you are working on.

You will also notice that there are small icons on each page showing which section of the hat you are working on. 

2/ Cut out the shapes, using a craft knife or scissors. 

3/ Score along the dotted fold lines using the bone folder and metal ruler. If you are not familiar with scoring, we do this to prepare the paper or cardstock for folding. This means using a bone folder (or blunt knife) and carefully drawing this down the side of the ruler along the fold line. This breaks the fibers in the paper and will make it much easier to fold a straight line.

Note the difference in fold lines:

. . . . . . . . . . .  –  This makes a valley fold (v fold), the edges are folded towards you to make a V

…………………… – This makes a mountain fold (^ fold), the edges are folded away from you to make a ^

Start adhering the edges together to form the hat. Work in whichever order you are most comfortable with, however I recommend starting with the smaller sections. In effect, working DOWN the hat starting with the pompom on the end. 

Tip: You may find some pieces of adhesive tape are handy for reinforcing some of the flaps inside the hat.

Tips for finishing your DIY santa hat:

  • Instead of the white card pompom at the end, use cotton wool or even a real yarn pompom to add some texture to the hat.
  • Add some dabs of glitter or stick on jewels to give your hat bit of bling.
  • Make the hat in green to turn it into an elf’s hat!

New Papercraft Club

We hope you enjoy this papercraft project from Make Breaks 🙂 If you love interesting paper crafts, you may be interested in our new papercraft club where we’ll be creating more ambitious papercraft projects:

Sign up HERE!

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