I recently started a new job, so I decided it was time for a new hat themed for my work. I wrote about the last time I made a propeller hat, but instead of using dyes and paints this time I took a different approach. Our companies colors are Orange and Blue, so I bought a Flexfit fitted hat from Amazon in royal blue. I took our official company logos and had a local embroidery shop stitch the logos directly on my hat:
In the end, it came out very nice. I didn’t even provide vector image files – the guy was nice enough to convert them for me! Next time I’ll try to start with a vector though.
Like last time I went to Party City (a party store), and got these forty-cent toy propellers. I cut off the square top and drilled a hole for a paper clip:
But this time I had to do things a little differently. I couldn’t find the same beads I used last time at the Micheal’s in Manhattan, so I found something similar and had to compromise:
The problem with these beads was their holes – they were way to wide. So I cut some more plastic off the sick, and drilled a hollow center.
Note that I’m using a Dremel to drill – I left my real drill back in California so I had to improvise. I don’t recommend normally using a Dremel to drill – its hard to control, and in this case the bit was too narrow to fit in the chuck of the Dremel – so I had to pad it. Safety!
At this time I also used the Dremel to put a hole in the top of the hat, and slip the paperclip through:
I then added my custom spacer to the paperclip:
And slipped the bead over it. Now the bead would stay centered and not wobble around:
Finally I crowed the cap with it’s new propeller.
There was one was thing that I wanted to do. Originally the under side of the bill was a semi dark gray. I thought it would better if the underside of the bill matched the orange from the logo and the propeller. I got some fabric paint from Michael’s and carefully gave it several coats. It now looks super sharp.
I eventually want to buy a better propeller. It seems like the two hats I made with these party store propellers don’t spin as well as the black hat I made with a RC Helicopter propeller. These seem heavier and less aerodynamic. Though it will spin, the wind has to be VERY strong. I want to upgrade the propeller, because spinning is the best part.
November 27, 2015 at 8:42 pm | Other Projects