How to Decorate (or Make) a Steampunk Top Hat

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We must confess at the outset that the title promises a little more than the research can deliver. A full-size top hat, blocked and lined, is a milliner’s trade; we found no tutorial that we could vouch for, and so we do not pretend to teach it. What we can teach, from sources we have read, is the decoration of a plain hat, which is how most steampunk hats are in fact produced, and the making of a mini top hat from card. The wider family of projects is gathered in our guide to steampunk DIY, and the hats one may buy are surveyed in steampunk hats.

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The Outfitters' Catalogue

Everything named in this guide, by budget

AllThriftyMid-range

Fig. 1Thrifty

Black costume top hat

A plain hat to dress; the costume-shop kind answers for a first attempt.

See it

Fig. 2Thrifty

Grosgrain ribbon, half-inch

For the hat band and the bow at the base.

See it

Fig. 3Thrifty

Craft feathers, assorted

A small cluster rising from the band.

See it

Fig. 4Thrifty

Gear, key and lock charms

The ornaments that make the hat read as steampunk.

See it

Fig. 5Thrifty

Rub 'n Buff metallic wax

To give plain gears and plastic ornaments the finish of brass.

See it

Fig. 6Thrifty

Clip-on hair combs

For fixing a mini hat to the head, at the back.

See it

Fig. 7Mid-range

Wool felt top hat

A sturdier crown and brim than the costume-shop hat.

See it

I.Of the Top Hat, and Why It Serves

The Victoria and Albert Museum records the top hat as the main form of gentleman’s headwear in the early nineteenth century. It peaked in the 1840s and 1850s, was challenged by the boater, the soft felt hat and the bowler, and by the 1880s was mostly kept for formal wear with frock or tail coats. By the late century most were of silk; the museum holds a silk plush example by James Lock & Co., dated 1900 to 1910. The shape, in short, already belongs to the period that steampunk borrows from, which is why a plain black hat needs so little to be convincing.

A word for the lady: the Edwardian motoring hat was commonly low in the crown, since wind took the larger hats. A small hat worn forward, with goggles above the brim, is thus a period hint as well as a convenience.

II.What One Pays for the Foundation

The Frog Prince Paperie blogger found steampunk hats hard to come by secondhand, and decided that making one for about $12 was not worth her time; she dressed an existing black top hat instead, with goggles wrapped about the brim and a feather she found for nothing. We think she chose rightly.

III.Decorating a Plain Top Hat

The method below is our synthesis of two sources: the Frog Prince Paperie decoration of a ready-made hat, and Crescendia’s finishing steps for her mini top hat on Cut Out + Keep. Neither is a tutorial for a full-size silk or felt hat, so test any adhesive on the inside of the brim first.

1. Choose a plain hat in black or brown, and brush it clean.
2. Make the band. Crescendia ties a half-inch ribbon in a bow around the base and trims the tails to taste. A band wide enough to hide the join between crown and brim reads best.
3. Build the ornament on a base, not on the hat. She arranges the feathers and charms on a large pin or an earring first, so that the cluster is secured together before it goes anywhere near the hat. This has a further virtue: the hat is not marked, and the cluster may be moved or worn on another hat.
4. Choose charms with a purpose. She used cogs and a key and lock for a steampunk look. Plain gears may be given the finish of old brass with metallic wax; see Rub ‘n Buff for steampunk props and faux brass, copper and bronze.
5. Add the goggles last, around the brim or on the hat band; Historical Emporium advises that they sit on the hat band or about the neck while in company, and over the eyes only for photographs. A pair may be made at home; see how to make steampunk goggles.
6. Add a feather if the hat looks bare. The Frog Prince hat wore a single feather and no more.

Restraint is the better counsel. A hat bearing gears, goggles, feathers, a clock face and a chain has stopped being dressed and become merely loaded, and a person sitting behind it at the theater will say so.

IV.Making a Mini Top Hat

For the smaller hat, Crescendia’s project takes about 90 minutes and uses two yards of half-inch ribbon, a yard of fabric, two charms, eight feathers, poster board, scissors, glue (she used rubber cement) and a yard of finger-length netting veil. The method, in our words:

1. Find a basic top hat pattern online, and enlarge or shrink it to fit.
2. Cut the pieces from poster board, and cover each with fabric before assembling; double the brim so that the rough edges are hidden.
3. Let the glue dry fully, then decorate.
4. Tie the ribbon bow around the base, and place a hair comb at the back of the hat; she found that a comb at the front does not sit properly.
5. Fix the feathers and charms to a pin, attach them, curl the brim edges, and add a veil if wished.

Historical Emporium’s search for a mini top hat turned up no such hats when we looked, only full-size ones, which is a sound reason to make rather than buy.

V.A Word on Safety

The decoration of a hat is a gentle craft, but three cautions apply. First, the goggles that sit on the brim are costume pieces and not eye protection; work eyewear must meet ANSI Z87.1 under OSHA’s rule. Second, if gears are finished in wax, the maker restricts Rub ‘n Buff from children under 13, and recommends it only for surfaces not exposed to moisture or electricity. Third, rubber cement and other adhesives and paints carry their own labels: read the maker’s warnings and safety data sheet before use. We have found no source on which glue best suits felt or silk plush, and say so rather than guess.

VI.Frequently Asked Questions

How do you decorate a steampunk top hat?

Add a ribbon band and bow, a cluster of feathers and gear or key charms fixed to a pin, and goggles about the brim.

Can you make a top hat out of cardboard?

At miniature scale, yes: one maker covers poster board with fabric, doubles the brim and finishes it in about 90 minutes. We found no reliable tutorial for a full-size hat.

How much does a steampunk top hat cost?

Costume-shop hats were $19.99 to $29.99 and a period outfitter’s top hats $64.95 to $118.95 in October 2026.

Where do you put goggles on a top hat?

On the hat band or about the brim for most of the time, and over the eyes only for photographs.

What makes a top hat steampunk?

Little more than a period shape with period-style trimming: a band, feathers, gears, a key and goggles.

Was the top hat Victorian?

Yes. It was the main gentleman’s hat of the early nineteenth century and was mostly formal wear by the 1880s.

Sources