Make Witch Hat Primitive Halloween Ornies from Recycled Wool Clothing

Use grandpa's old wool suits or wool clothing you have picked up secondhand to make primitive witch ornies to decorate your home for Halloween. These little stuffed hats can be placed as a grouping in a basket or set among your Halloween decorated vignettes.

I purchased a large drum barrel at a recent auction that was full of old castoffs. I could tell when I opened the barrel, it had not been opened in many years. That unmistakable aroma of wool that has not been aired in a while came wafting out. My family wrinkled their noses and raised their eyebrows. In order to use the wool for crafting, it was about to get worse. The wool needed to be prepared for crafting, and that meant washing it.

I chose to wash several dark gray and black wool suits during one of the hottest days of the year. I wish I could say I opened a window to let the wet wool smell out, but it was way too hot outside and my struggling air conditioning would not have been able to stand the competition. The family suffered with the smell of a sheep farm, while I had a couple of potpourri pots working to cover up the odor. Hey, they survived. I'm just glad we didn't have company.

Step 1
Place a 9-inch salad plate on a piece of newspaper and trace around it, or use a compass. Cut out the circle shape. Fold the circle in half and in half again. Unfold the circle and cut out one pie section. This is the pattern for the cone part of the hat. Pin the pattern to one layer of gray or black wool and cut out.

Step 2
I used a 4-inch round coaster to trace the brim pattern. You could also use a compass. Cut out the circle shape. Pin the pattern to two layers of gray or black wool and cut out.

Step 3
Pin the brim circles together. Sew a zigzag stitch around the edge of the pinned circles.

Step 4
Fold the wool pie section in half, matching and pinning the two straight edges together. Sew the pinned edge using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn the cone right side out and firmly stuff it.

Step 5
Place the stitched brim circle on your work surface. Center the open end of the cone on the brim, flaring the bottom edge outward a 1/4 inch. Pin the bottom edge to the brim. Sew the pinned edge to the top layer of the brim using a running stitch. This will look messy, but it will be covered by the hat band.

Step 6
Cut a 2-inch wide strip of cheese cloth from selvage edge to selvage edge. Fold the strip in half matching the short ends. Wrap the strip around the base of the cone and tie the ends into a knot. Wrap each of the long tie ends around the ornie hat in opposite directions. Tuck the ends loosely into the tied band. Apply craft glue underneath the band to secure.

Step 7
Cut or break stems of dried flowers. Bundle them together in your hands. Apply hot glue to the ends of the stems and stick them into the band of the witch hat.

Step 8
Mix a teaspoon of brown acrylic paint with a 1/4 cup of water. Add an 1/8 teaspoon or a generous dash of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dab the stain mixture over the surface of the witch hat ornie to age it. Allow the stain to dry. Mix only as much stain as you will need for the project, as it does not keep well.