Melbourne Cup is this Tuesday...are you racewear ready?

Hopefully you've seen all of the adorable handmade headpieces and vintage hats on offer at Ra Ra, but maybe you're on a budget this month and need something that costs next to nothing. Or perhaps you simply don't have time between now and Tuesday to get over there to do some shopping. Maybe you make plans at the last minute and race to your closet only to find the perfect outfit but it is missing the perfect hat. What's a girl to do?

Well today I have an idea for you that costs next to nothing and can be racewear ready in under a half hour!

This idea comes courtesy of my mother-in-law who was here for a recent visit and was raving about a street performer she saw that took one square piece of plain brown paper and turned them into the most amazing hats. There was no cutting. No gluing. No taping. Just twisting of paper and within minutes, amazing one-of-a-kind hats were created.

Melbourne Cup always sneaks up on me because it comes so close to Halloween so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to put this idea to use. So with one roll of plain brown wrapping paper, I got started.

The wrapping paper was 700 mm long so I kept that length and cut a square 700 mm x 700  mm. Staying true to the no cutting, no gluing, no taping rule...I came up with this:

Then I made a second hat, again with one piece of paper 700 mm x 700 mm, but this time at the end I ripped a bit of the top so that there were strips that I could curl. Here is what this one looked like:

Then I started cheating. For the third hat I cut 6 or 7 long strips about 100 mm wide. I crunched them up and wove them together in a random pattern until I created my hat shape. I tied them together or just tucked the ends in to hold them in place. Again, there was no gluing or taping involved. Here is what that one turned out like:

For the last one I really cheated! I cut a lot of squares in different sizes, I think 7 in all, then I crunched them up and tore around all of the edges to get a circular shape. When stacked you get a flower. Then I took a band long enough to fit around my head, crunched that up as well, and then placed a single stitch with a needle and thread that connected the ends of the headband and then stacked all the layers of the flower on top.

I still have paper left on the roll which I think cost about $2 or $3. I didn't spend more than 20 minutes on a single hat. Fast, cheap, and easy!

Now if you want to cheat even further, and you have a bit more time, there are a lot of other things you can do with this idea:

• Spray paint it to match your outfit (or use coloured paper)
• Add tulle or fabric
• Attach buttons or beads with a hot glue gun
• Attach fake flowers or feathers
• Use elastic, hair clips, or a headband for extra security if you are worried about it falling off (attach with a hot glue gun or hand sewing)

So keep this in mind if you find yourself in a pinch this weekend. I promise it is quite addictive once you get started! I could have kept making hats all day.

Have a safe and fun Melbourne Cup!

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