This past weekend seemed to divide the sports-watching public into two distinct camps — horses vs. boxing. (I got stuck in the latter category and fell asleep in the middle of a fight-watching party, I was so bored.)
But over the weekend, my sister, Chelsea, attended to her third Kentucky Derby. When I spotted the festive hat she wore for the occasion, I was delighted when she said she had made it herself. I asked her to share how she made her Derby hat — for less than $30. Her instructions and tips are below — edited excerpts follow.
Hi — Chelsea here! The Kentucky Derby is a sporting event where eccentricity is encouraged — especially in the infield, where you’ll see wacky hats crowned with flamingo-colored feathers and miniature versions of Churchill Downs. (Attendees in stadium seating tend to have daintier hats.) This was my third derby, and I didn’t want to buy yet a brand-new hat, especially at the stadium. (They can be pretty pricey, starting at $80 for basic designs.)
I’ve done the dainty hat thing in years past, but this year I wanted to go big. Here’s how I did it — and fair warning, this is not a super-speedy process. It took me two days, so plan ahead.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- A straw hat. I got mine at Richard’s Variety Store in Atlanta for $7.99. The key is to choose a hat with a flat top — a domed or rounded top won’t be a secure base for your decorations.
- Plastic toy horses. Mine cost $10 and came in a tube.
- A bag of decorative moss, which comes packaged in a big wad. (I got mine at Michael’s.)
- Adhesive of your choice. I used both Gorilla Glue and Krylon spray.
Now, here’s the fun part:
- First, I arranged the moss’ placement onto the hat. Since the moss comes in a wad, you have to rip off the amount of moss you’ll need. (I used two handfuls.) This can be very messy, so you’ll want to do this on a newspaper-covered dining room table.
- Then, I used Krylon spray adhesive to stick the moss to the hat, although I used Gorilla Glue in places that needed extra help. (SIDE NOTE: Next time, I will glue the horses onto the hat FIRST, followed by the moss. The moss seemed ultimately too flimsy to act as a base for the horses.)
- To ensure the tony horses’ tiny hooves would adhere to the hat, I Gorilla Glue-d them onto rectangles of thick construction paper. I let the horses dry on these paper anchors overnight.
- The next day, I tucked the horses into the moss, using Gorilla Glue to secure them into their final places.
