How to Make a Paper Chef Hat

A few sheets of paper and a little time will put your little one in charge of all your Michelin stars. Please see the last slide for an itemized list of tools and materials.

Cut a piece of card stock 1/2 inch by 11 inches and another 1 1/4 inches by 11 inches. These will be your measuring guides to make the pleated section of the hat.

Align the half-inch guide at the bottom of a piece of printer paper. Keep the guide from shifting while you fold the paper over the guide and crease the paper.

Place the 1 1/4 inches guide on the paper, aligned with the crease you just finished. Keep the guide from shifting while you fold the paper over the guide. Repeat the alternating folds across the entire sheet of paper. The sheet should begin with a half-inch tab and end with 1 1/4 inches after the last half-inch fold. Don't worry if there's a fraction more or less on the last pleat.

You'll need several sheets folded this way. Four sheets will be enough for small children, for tweens you'll need five, for teens and adults, make five or six.

Align the sheets with the pleats all facing the same direction. Tape the half-inch tab of the first sheet to the 1 1/4 inches tab of the second. Repeat, forming a continuous pleated strip.

Tape two pieces of paper end to end with an overlap of one inch, resulting in a piece of paper 8 1/2 inches by 21 inches (larger hats will need a third piece of paper). Use the folding guide to mark 1 1/4 inches along the long edge of the paper and fold along the line. Fold over again, forming a cuff for the brim of the hat.

Turn the piece over, measure and mark 1 1/4 inches along the opposite edge. Place the pleated paper along the mark and tape it down securely.

Measure around your child's head with the fabric tape measure. Add one inch. Measure the hat material to the calculated length and cut.

Bring the two ends together with an overlap of one inch and tape. Try the hat on your little chef and adjust as needed.