DIY a Juju Hat and Pay Homage to Cameroons Rich Culture
Today I want to show you how to DIY a Juju hat, a traditional feather headdress worn by tribes people in Cameroon.
It has become popular in the west to adorn your walls with these gorgeous pieces. Buying one of these in stores will cost you a lot of money, but I'll show you how to make your own for a fraction of the cost.
This post was transcribed by a member of the Hometalk editorial team from the original HometalkTV episode.
1. Start the DIY Juju hat tutorial by gathering your materials
You will need a piece of poster board and a dinner plate.
2. Draw circles
Use the dinner plate as a template to draw two circles on the poster board.
3. Cut out the circles
Use scissors to cut each circle out of the poster board.
You also need to cut a slit from the edge of the circle to its center.
4. Create the hat base
After that, overlap the two sides slightly, one over the other, and use hot glue to secure them together.
It will create a concave piece that sort of looks like a wide-brimmed hat.
5. Add feathers to the DIY Juju hat
Pick up some feather trim from a craft store. I chose goose feathers because there were brown and white and I liked that look however you can use any color and any style that you like. Be sure the feathers are in trim form because they are easier to work with.
Start along the outer edge of the paper circle and use hot glue to attach the feather trim.
When you get back to where you started, snip the rest of the trim off and secure the end with hot glue.
Next, move about 2 inches further into the center of the circle and continue sticking your feather trim down making sure they overlap.
You don't want to see the satin ribbon of the trim, so make sure to cover it with the next row of feathers as you are working your way in.
When you get to the middle of the circle, use a few smaller pieces to fill it in. The goal is for it to appear full.
To make sure the last bits of ribbon are covered, pull a few individual feathers from the trim and hot glue them into the middle.
6. Add the final touches
For the final finishing touches, pick up a few small shells and hot glue them to the center. I really love the look of the shells to finish it off but you can use whatever you like to embellish it.
DIY Juju Hat Tutorial
This was a super simple craft to make and because they're large, they are eye-catching and look expensive.
I hope this has inspired you to go create your own DIY African juju hat. Let me know if you decide to make one and share the results!
Comments
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Hi Sarah, Thank you so much for posting such a great way of translating these hats into something just as beautiful as the real thing. :)
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I made a larger one for my daughter-in-laws birthday. It turned out fantastic!!
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Frequently asked questions
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