For some people, a paper centerpiece – depicting a turkey, pumpkins, or fall leaves – is a great decoration for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Other people prefer something more substantial, something they can use each and every year. If you’re one of those people, you might have already been looking through catalogs and at websites to find the perfect Thanksgiving centerpiece, at a good price. “At a good price” is the challenging part. Save some money and just make your own centerpiece this year. You can make a really nice, floral centerpiece – one that looks like a pilgrim’s hat – and what’s a more perfect centerpiece than that?
Clay pots aren’t expensive and are available in a number of different sizes, from tiny, to huge. Purchase a pot that is six to eight inches in diameter. Wash the pot well; clay pots often have a grit to them but can be easily washed.
One way to make the pilgrim hat is to cover the clay pot with black felt. You’ll need a large piece of felt and, to cut the shape for the pot, you’ll need to roll the pot from one edge of the felt, to the other, making an arch shape when you roll it. Trace along the shape to determine how to cut the felt. The felt will then be glued onto the pot.
A more simple way to turn the clay pot into a pilgrim’s hat is to just paint it black. It might take more than one coat to get the coverage and depth of color you want. When the paint is dry you’ll then make a brim for the hat.
Use a large piece of black craft foam to make the brim. Lay the pot face-down on the felt and trace around it. Then, make another circle, larger than the pot. For a six or eight inch pot, the brim can be three to four inches larger, all the way around, than the pot. Cut out the large circle of felt, cut out the center circle, slide it on by setting the pot in the middle of the circle, and pulling the foam up to the lip of the clay pot. Tape in place, from the underside.
You can make a quick stamp to create the buckle on the hat when you use a piece of cardboard. Draw a large square, then a smaller one, with the small one inside the large one. Cut out the large square, then cut the middle square out, and set it aside. Make a ball of tape and stick it to the back of the buckle to use as a handle. Paint the buckle yellow or gold and stamp it onto one side of the pot. Another option is to just cut yellow paper into a buckle design and glue or tape it to the pot.
Fill the pilgrim’s hat with any type of flowers you want. Or, fill it with leaves and pine cones. No matter what arrangement you make, the pilgrim’s hat centerpiece is the perfect decoration for your Thanksgiving table.
Pilgrim’s Hat Centerpiece