How to Decorate a Mexican Sombrero
If you want to make your sombrero a bit more authentic or eye-catching, consider these tips for how to decorate a Mexican sombrero. Mexican sombreros are gigantic hats made of straw or velvet designed to provide the wearer much needed relief from the intense, Mexican sun in the form of shade. These hats were invented by vaqueros, Mexican cowboys, hundreds of years ago, but are now usually worn by employees of Mexican restaurants and Americans celebrating Cinco de Mayo.
Straw Sombreros
If you have a plain straw sombrero, you should decorate it with ribbons, pom-poms and maybe some small dried chili peppers. Begin by buying one length of two inch thick ribbon to go around the crown. Try to find something in a pattern that resembles serape, though any brightly colored, striped ribbon will do. With a hot glue gun, glue this ribbon around the bottom of the crown. Next, find a one inch wide ribbon in a color that matches the crown ribbon to go around the brim. This part is a little bit harder. Glue the brim ribbon to the edge of the brim and then fold it so that it is wrapped around the brim's edge. Next, glue brightly colored pom-poms at regular intervals around the brim. If you want to, you can decorate the ribbon on the crown with dried chili peppers.
Velvet Sombreros
If you have a formal occasion to attend, a velvet sombrero is the appropriate choice of headgear. Your velvet sombrero should be decorated with gold or silver sequins and metallic thread. Try to glue the metallic thread and sequins onto both the crown and brim of the hat so that they look like they are embroidered in arabesque, curly decorations. Be careful not to use too much hot glue, though, because it will look bad on the velvet if you can see it beading.
