clever no-sew hat ornament from leftovers

If you have learned one thing about us, it is that we are going to reuse the HELL out of the contents of our recycle bin— especially the cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls. After all, they are a constantly renewing resource! We saw various posts for adorable hat ornaments made from leftover yarn or string and parts of toilet roll tubes and thought we would give it a go.

Gather materials:
yarn or string— preferably thick enough to grasp easily and cover the cardboard
scissors
toilet roll tube
some bit of time— this takes more time than it looks!

Cut toilet roll tube into approx 1-inch sections. Cut lengths of yarn into 10-11 inch segments.

Fold lengths of string or yarn in half, then wrap the loop formed at the halfway point over the top of the cut section of toilet roll tube. Slip two ends of yarn or string through the loop such that the knot formed snugs up against the two tails at the base of the tube section. This is called a “Larks Head Knot.” Looping the loop over the back and pulling the tails through allows the two sections to lie flat in closed lines. If the knot is tied incorrectly, the lines will be divided and open. Correct ties are shown on the left of the tube. An incorrect tie is illustrated on the left of the picture above.

Correct formation of the Larks Head Knot for this project shown above!
Using a approximately equal lengths of yarn or string, continue tying knots until the tube is completely and snuggly covered.

Once the the tube is completely covered, you either have the beginning of Cthulu, which is a great way to go, if you have a mind… or the next part to the hat.

Hat?
Ok.

Push all the lengths of yarn through the tube, out the top (opposite the knots) and straighten. We know… Cthulu STILL a possibility! But, onwards.

With a length of matching string or yarn securely tie the gathered spaghetti monster…er… strands into a cinched area about hat height from the toilet roll tube brim.

We wrapped twice securing with a non-slip knot like a square knot (right strand over left, then left strand over right).

Using cotton balls, cotton salvaged from medicine bottles, or wool roving, stuff the inside of the hat form.

Trim the top strands to a pom pom or tassel shape. Add a bit of string or twine as hanger.

Adorable lil hat on the tree— squeeeee!