DIY: Raffia JuJu Hat

Awww....I am super excited about this post. Before I say more, this DIY was too easy to not be recreated. I have a gut feeling so...


Awww....I am super excited about this post. Before I say more, this DIY was too easy to not be recreated. I have a gut feeling something like this has been done before....I haven't looked. 

I needed something round to hang above my bed. I looked at the possibilities of round tribal inlay art to a woven raffia, like a basket lid. Then, the idea of raffia in an organic state would look good around inlaid tribal art...like this....but that seemed like too much work. Yes, I said that. 

Raffia is a material that I am very VERY familiar with...SIDE NOTE:  Back in my younger days, I was a Polynesian dancer and we used to make our own costumes. Raffia was one of the materials we used for headdresses and skirts. Anyways, I had this crazy idea that I should use raffia for some type of art piece, then as I scrolling through Facebook, I saw a Juju hat and  that is when I thought I could make a mock-up one with raffia. 

Here we go: 


Materials: Raffia, Scissors, Cardboard, jute (string, yarn, zip ties, anything that you can use to tie the raffia together, you can even use raffia scraps)


Trace a large circle on your piece of cardboard. The piece I used was white on one side and brown on the other side. I ended up going with the brown side because it blended in with the raffia more. 


Cut and separate the raffia to desired length. I kept the length of the raffia as is and separated it into two piles. 


Tie each pile in center


Make desired amount of holes in the cardboard to string jute through so the piles could be secured to the cardboard.  Although you see three holes I made a total of 6 holes. You can possibly hot glue the raffia. 


Secure the raffia to the board. 


This technique is similar to what you see on kids toys, right? 


Secure second pile of raffia to board and spread out raffia to cover board. 


I used scrap raffia to make two smaller bundles and I tied it to the two existing piles so that it can look fuller. 


finished product. 


VOILA! ... and here is an extra treat for all of you...


This tutorial was harder for me to describe than I thought. I tucked my upper raffia pieces behind the cardboard, but I am pretty sure it can be hot glued to stay in place. 

Happy tutorial...Get inspired...and stay tuned for my mini bedroom makeover

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2 comments

  1. I still need a juju hat in my life! I love the look of this. Thanks for sharing the tutorial.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! Those things are so expensive, I had to try and DIY one...

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