Tomato Cage Witch Hats

Looking for some fun Halloween Decor, but don't want to break the bank?  You came to the right place!

Today I'm going to show you how I pieced together these Witch Hats using items that will come from your gardening shed, sewing basket, and the Dollar Store.  Wee...

Come join me, and let's create!

Today;

You'll Need:

Tomato Cage(s)
Weed Fabric
Scissors
Zip Tie(s)
Straight Pins
Sharpie
Duct Tape
Electrical Tape
Wire Ribbon
2 ceiling tiles (Ok...You got me.  Not from $ Store.  It's better! Home Depot - 38 cents - Holla!)
Sheetrock Saw or Razor blade
Spray Paint
Wire Clothes Hanger(s)
Spooky Spider(s)

To begin, you'll bend all 4 feet of the tomato cages, tip to tip, in the center to create a triangle affect.  Wrap a zip tie around the feet, and here's your base.

If you so desire, wrap with duct tape as well.  Only one of my cages got this, as it was an after thought :)

To begin building the hat, drape your weed fabric barrier over the entire cage, leaving additional length on each side to tuck into the bottom, before you cut.  My rule of thumb, is it's better to have too much, than not enough.  So I left approximately 12-15".

Now you should have one droopy looking mess, but it gets better, fairly quickly.
Here's where an assistant is most helpful.  I had help with my 1st one, and was on my own for the second.  If you're on your own, words from the wise is to do prep ahead of time.  I had several medium size duct tape pieces, pre-cut, so that I could just grab and go.  It was really helpful, so  unless you have a Vanna White, remember this tip.  It will save you some frustration.

Continuing on with the hats...

Flip the Tomato Cage upside down, so it is sitting on the triangle tip you created.
Start folding the fabric down around the metal of the cage base, and duct tape around the bottom as you go. 

Don't worry about the sides not being pieced together yet...we'll get to those later, and don't try to skip ahead and think doing the sides 1st is easier.  It's not.  I tried it.  About 12 times. :) :) :)

Notice how the duct tape in secured on the tape and the metal itself.  Very important. 

When the base is duct taped all the way around, use a sewing pin, to connect the 2 fabric sides together. See how they overlap here.  That's where you pin.

 

Sit the base of the cage, on the ground, grab your sewing pins, and start on your sides.

The idea here, is to tuck the fabric in and wrap it around just like you would a present.  Once the fabric is in the proper placement, pin down the sides...

 

To pin: Use the cage as a guide.  Where the bars go cross ways, that's where you'll put the pin in.  So pin just above the bar.  If you go directly behind the bar, it helps the pin go straight into the bottom piece of the fabric.  In my mental state, this made me feel like I was building a fairly awesome structure, and like maybe I should be an architect some day.  I think maybe I'll stick to my day job ;)

 

So now that the sides are pinned, I'll show you a neat little trick that I use for all sorts of stuff...It requires a SHARPIE! I love these things...Such an easy way to hides those bright colors that we want hidden, and takes all of 3 seconds.

Color your straight pin heads.  Completely optional but blends in perfectly if you do

Now that the sides are pinned, your hat should look like this from the outside...

Hey...I never claimed to have superior wrapping skills :)

and like this from the bottom, into the cage.
 

 

I chose to also add electrical tape to the tip of the hat, so the legs wouldn't poke through the fabric.

Time for the base of the hat.  I have to be honest here, this was a mess, so don't do this in your Sunday best...

Using a black marker, I drew on a circle.  Using sheet rock saw, I cut it out following my stencil.  

  

 After your circle is cut.  Spray paint it black.



Now it's time to fancify these wicked cutie's...

I took apart a wire clothes hanger (using a pair of pliers), shaped it, and wrapped the non-hook end of it around the tip of my hat, then pinched it taut with the pliers. 

With the hook end, I stuck my styrofoam spider onto it for additional support.

For the bow...
I used wired Halloween ribbon.
For the bow around the hat, I went up approximately 6" up from the base, and tied a bow (like you would tie your shoes) and fluffed it out.

And there you have it folks...

Spookey Ookey Hats, that's sure to please your Halloween Crowd (or passer by'ers)!