The Impractical Pursuit of Creative Joy

I love making my handmade witch hats for one simple reason: they are one of the few things I make which serve absolutely zero practical function. They have no reason to exist and there, I would argue, lies their creative beauty.

I both dabble and work semiprofessionally in an array of fiber arts—knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery—and most of them begin with a meticulous plan, either of my own design or the pre-laid out instructions of another creator.

These crafts all excite and enrich me in their own way, but none quite like the witch hats which are never planned. I never sketch them out ahead of time. I never follow a pattern or recreate a design I have seen elsewhere. I never buy a kit. All I ever do with them is begin—and if you are in any way familiar with the creative process, you know that is one hell of a beautiful thing to do.

One October morning I found myself in need of a last-minute Halloween costume and thought to myself that it would be pretty cool to have a super-witchy witch hat. Not one of the lame dollar-store floppy-junks you buy at the eleventh hour, but a *proper* witch hat, like you might find in the prop closet of an ultra-spooky, high-budget Hollywood blockbuster.

I wanted the Hocus Pocus vibe—not the Hocus Bogus vibe.

So, being in college and in the possession of almost no money at all and with no time to waste on standard USPS shipping, I put my right-brain to work and set out to create the witchiest of all witch hats which ever did witch.

I went to the hardware store and got a few feet of bulk chicken wire and a set of heavy duty pliers/wire cutters. I got out the box of assorted velvet costume fabric which I have inexplicably moved to far too many short-term leases over the years. I borrowed some fake silk flowers from my roommate who was going through a wreath phase at the time. I located my trusty Fiskars scissors—which I had somehow managed to save from many a near miss with unknowing roommates who tried to cut PAPER with them *shudders*—and in short order, I got to work.

I started making a base for the hat by molding a wrinkly, mangled conical-beast out of the chicken wire—ever with “The Sorting Hat” from the Harry Potter series in mind as my ultimate style inspiration.

After the wire base was molded to my liking, I fashioned a wide, strong brim out of an unwound wire hanger.

Then, I began covering the base with strips of velvet fabric, wound and bunched and folded over itself and stitched into place in an artfully erratic manner. There are no rules to this part of the process and that I am sure is what makes this part my favorite, even to this day. It is not only the most free-form of all the steps but it is also the most satisfying in the end result because it is what really turns up the spook and sets my hats apart from the drab, dollar store masses. It is what makes them witchy—and it also happens to be quite a bit of fun.

After the hat shape is all set, it's time to go to town—preferably Halloween Town—with the embellishments. Ceramic pumpkins, funky ribbon, black roses, eye of knute, hair of goat, WHATEVER your spooky little heart desires, now is the time to glue, stitch, pin or charm into place in whatever way feels right (and secure!) in the moment. This is when the hat truly comes alive and, once again, there are no rules here, only that you let your creativity flow.

As I said, I work as both a hobbyist and a professional in many different crafts, but I still manage to carve out time every fall to bust out a few witch hats. They don’t make me any money commercially or further my career as a fiber artist, but to me they are always worth creating if only because they are so much fun to make. Sometimes, it is completely okay for that to be your only reason to do something. In fact, I would argue that we all ought to make that our “reason” a lot more than we ever actually do in practice.

So, this Autumn when the air turns colder, the PSL*s flow freely, and the irresistible siren song of the flowy sweater calls out to the basic witch in all of us, if you are looking for a creative outlet I highly suggest you make a witch hat. You can put on your favorite spooky movie while you do it, imbibe the autumnal drink of your choice, and revel in the impractical seasonality of this creative release. If nothing else, you have a decoration for your table at the end of it and who doesn’t love a good centerpiece at the end of some self-care?

*pumpkin spice lattes, obviously…