Robin Hood. 

When you hear the name, the image of the outlaw bandit clad in green wearing an archer’s cap and holding a longbow springs to mind.

For this cog in Operation #SoldOutShow we decided to capitalize on this imagery by handing out replica long bows to all the kids at the show as a door buster. What could possibly go wrong?

As epic as that would be, we instead went with the idea of handing out paper archer’s caps. The plan is to distribute 300 of them at Saturday’s matinee performance, which we expect to have a large number of children in attendance.

Making a paper hat isn’t hard.

Making 300 paper hats isn’t hard either.

Making 300 hats is just time consuming.

Lucky, I have an amazing group of students in my study hall who simply like helping (often unprompted). We set up an assembly line and banged out 150 hats in less than hour.

The remaining 150, I finished that weekend while watching Robin Hood on the iPad. If you can’t make it to Saturday’s matinee but still want one, here’s the instructions.

What you’ll need

• Rectangular sheet of paper. If you want it hat sized 18×24 paper works well.
• Feather (real or paper). Amazon sells red ones in packs of 100 for less than $8.
• Stapler (or clear tape).

Directions

1. Creating a Robin Hood hat or archer’s cap is almost identical to folding a Yankee Doodle hat with one additional step. Start by folding the paper in from top to bottom like a hamburger bun.

2. Find the midpoint of the paper on fold you just created. In this example, I’m using a 18×24 inch sheet of paper so the midpoint is nine inches. Because I’m a perfectionist, I mark the spot with a pencil.

3. Fold one corner of the paper until that new section looks like an equilateral triangle. The top corner of the triangle you just created should end on the midpoint line you marked earlier.

4. Repeat the previous step on the opposite corner. Again, the top corner of the newly folded triangle should end on the midpoint line you marked earlier.

5. Fold the paper that extends beyond the triangle up.

6. Flip the hat over and repeat the step above folding the paper that extended beyond the triangle up.

7. Fold the paper that extends beyond the triangles around it while attempting to make the creases crisp.

8. Repeat the previous step on the other end of the hat.

9. Using a stapler (or clear tape) affix the flap of paper on one end into place to prevent it from unraveling.

10. At this point you have a basic Yankee Doodle hat. On the opposite side, fold one to two inches of the point under the hat.

11. Smooth all the folds to ensure a hat with crisp edges.

12. Insert the tip of a feather under the brim of the hat on one side. If you are concerned about it falling out, staple into place.

Ticket Information

Performances will in the Lampeter-Strasburg High School Performing Arts Center on November 9, 10, and 11 at 7 pm with a special matinee performance on Saturday, November 11 at 2 pm. Open seating tickets are now on sale through November 10 in the high school main office week days 2-4 pm. Tickets are also available at the door. Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to all performances one hour before the show.