Making a Harry Potter Sorting Hat

My Sorting Hat

I wish I had taken more pictures of this project.  I neglected to take a picture of the paper mâché hat that I bought at Michael's, but when I got it (on sale for about $7.00) I immediately thought "Sorting Hat."  It was the entire reason I decided to get it.  I didn't know how I was going to make it into a Sorting Hat, but it was almost there so I grabbed it and figured I'd work out the details later.

I started saving newspaper.  I figured I'd just add on to the existing hat with homemade paper mâché.  I'd never done that before, but I found some recipes to do it and figured "how hard could it be?" Famous last words, right?  Well, my insanity never got that far because as I was preparing to make this crazy hat I came across this post on Practically Functional as I was searching for photos of the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter to use as a guide.  It would seem that I wasn't the only one to spy this hat in Michael's and thought of Harry Potter (you can see a picture of the original hat on her website here)!

So instead of creating my own paper mâché mess, I decided to follow her instructions.  I ran out to the store and got some modeling paste (THAT was more expensive than I thought!  Almost $15.00…yikes!).  I then hot glued my "W" of newspaper onto the hat as she did for eyebrows and followed suit with a mouth.  I slathered on the modeling paste remembering that she said that you could smooth it out later with a second coat.  Well, if you glob it on like I did, you'll regret that advice.  Try to get it as smooth as possible with the first coat of modeling paste.  Let it dry (anywhere that required a lot of paste to fill in holes will crack…that's OK).  Sand down any rough spots.  This is my advice because mine really needed it.  Hell, even after the second thin layer of paste and another sanding I still wished it was smoother.  Until my husband lets me play with his high-speed sanding tools, I'll have to live with my version of sanded-enough.

Don't worry about cracks.  You'll get those with the next coat

So after that first sanding, follow with a second coat of modeling paste trying to make it as smooth as possible and filling in any spots that cracked while drying.  Sand again if needed and then it's time to paint!

Second coat of modeling paste

I grabbed a large bottle of brown paint at the store.  I really didn't need that much, but I use brown a lot to prep my ceramics so it was no big deal.  Paint the whole thing with a coat of brown paint and let dry.  You'll notice that some areas don't hold paint as well as others. Just add another coat of paint and you'll be good.

Now for highlights.  I decided to add these because, while I think the author of Practically Functional did a kick-butt job on her Sorting Hat, I also think that the finished product looked like wet clay.  Perhaps it was the sealant.  I haven't sealed mine yet (and may or may not), but if I do it will be with a matte finish and not a glossy one!  So for highlights I took the brown paint that I had originally used and squirted some onto waxed paper.  I added a couple drops of black. mixed and got a darker brown.  Don't worry about how exactly I got my brown.  Yours doesn't need to be the same.  Just get a darker brown and relax.  This sort of thing doesn't need to be perfect!

Use a sponge brush and dip into the darker brown.  Blot off the majority of the paint and then dab the brush in the eye sockets of the Sorting Hat as well as the mouth area.  Don't worry about putting too much in those areas.  You'll be able to go back later and touch up. Using the same dark brown paint, sponge brush and blotting method, dab the darker paint onto the hat in random areas (especially indentations/low spots which would naturally be shaded a bit darker).

Front of hat before blending

So now you have a hat that looks like my 7 year old highlighted it. Good.  Perfect.  If you're stressing over its lack of perfection grab some wine (or a beer) and get ready to blend it all in.  Don't pitch the remaining dark brown…you may need it later if you want to add more dark areas.  OK…Now on another piece of waxed paper (Oh, OK you can use a paint cup to put your paint in or another vessel, but I'm cheap here!) squirt some of the brown paint you originally painted your Sorting Hat with.  Using the SAME sponge brush that has NOT been cleaned, dab it into the brown paint, blot it a bit and then just start dabbing all over the darker brown you just added.  Don't worry about covering up your hard work.  If you dabbed off the majority of the paint before sponging the hat this won't happen, and if you had too much paint on the brush, well that's why we kept the darker paint!

When you dab over the dark brown, start from the outside of the dark spots and work your way in to the center.  You don't need to completely dab-over everything.  The fact that you're using the same sponge brush with the remnants of that darker paint underneath will actually help with the blending.  When your dabbing is done, put your brush down and walk away for a few minutes.  Come back about 10 minutes later and check your blending.  Still too dark?  Dab some more of the original brown on in the same manner. Trust me…you'll get the hang of this fairly quickly.  I wish I'd taken video, but I was multitasking as I did the highlighting and didn't think of it.  If I'm rambling and you need further clarification, just let me know!

Back of hat before blending

I'm not sure how long my Sorting Hat will last without a finish on the outside, but I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to sand it again (still hoping for power tools!).  I will most likely add that matte finish in the end.  Until then, I'm fairly happy with my finished product!

NOTE:  Don't stress about having your eyebrows and mouth exactly like mine or like Practically Functional's. The Sorting Hat talks.  It moves/leans in the movies and as long as your eyebrows and mouth are approximate, you'll be happy with the results! Oh and post-Halloween is a great time to get a deal on the paper mâché witch's hat!

Finished/blended back of the hat