How to Decorate a Graduation Cap

When I graduated last spring, my school finally lifted the ban on decorating our graduation caps. As an artsy person, and with my family being crafty, it was a given that I would go all out on my cap for my graduation. And being the nerd I am, of course, I would decorate it based on one of my favorite series, The Lord of the Rings!

While this won’t be a comprehensive tutorial on how to make my cap, since everyone’s cap is going to be unique, I will go over some of the steps and tips I learned while decorating my cap!

Step 1: Planning

Graduation is a big step in life; it represents leaving high school (or college!) behind and moving on to the next stage, so your cap should reflect that! Taking time to decide on a design and quote that truly speaks to you will be well worth it, so you can look at your cap for years to come as a symbol of that period of your life. 

While I started by looking at others’ designs to understand what designs worked, you should start wherever feels right! Is there a movie or book that really changed your life? Or a quote that helped motivate you through your school career?  The cap design can be based on anything you’d like, but I’d recommend picking something you’ll be proud to own years later! 

One of the big decisions you’ll have to make is the quote on your cap! While the quote isn’t necessary, many people add one that symbolizes moving on from this stage of their life.

Using a Quote

For mine, I chose a quote from The Return of the King, the final Lord of the Rings movie, when Bilbo says, “I think I’m quite ready for another adventure!”

However, when picking a quote, it is important to consider your school’s rules on decorating caps so you can wear the beautiful cap at graduation!

How to decorate your cap?

This is up to you and your skills and comfort level! I decided to make the base out of acrylic paint since it was an easier and already available option for me, but many people choose different mediums.

For example, you could make simple decorations from scrapbook paper or print photos and create photo collage using decoupage! For a simpler design, use white scrapbook paper as a base and create a drawn design on the cap using markers, pens, or colored pencils.

This project is for everyone at every skill level! There are options for you, whatever skill level you’re at! 

One thing to remember (that I forgot) is that the cap will be worn on its point, so plan your design with that in mind. Essentially, it's a diamond, not a square! I accidentally made mine as a square design and spent the entire day tilting my head so people could see it. Whoops! 

Getting Decorations: 

Craft stores offer kits to decorate graduation caps, which is an easier solution. However, I passed on these options because I had a vision for my cap. 

If you can, bring the cap to the store. Bringing it along can give a better idea of the scale of items to purchase and the kind of things to get! If this is not an option, try to find the dimensions of the mortarboard for your cap from a previous graduate or your school. I brought my sister’s cap since she had graduated and didn’t mind me borrowing it.

I wanted to add some three-dimensional elements to my cap, so I looked for foliage and decorations like those I’d seen on other caps. When deciding on decorations, it was important to consider the scale of the cap.

For example, fake flowers were far too large for my design. However, the smaller bags of assorted flowers were a more appropriate size for my project! 

I also found that fairy garden decorations were the right size for my project, so I added some smaller details! I decided to cut off the legs from a fairy table and use it as the door for my Shire design, since this made that detail stand out more. I also picked up some fake moss to add some extra pizzazz! 

Step 2: WHAT YOU NEED

Below are the materials I used for my cap; however, your materials may be different based on your design! 

• Cricut (for lettering, I used gold and white vinyl) or Lettering pack
• Craft store moss, assorted small flowers
• Fairy garden decorations (insects, birds, table, mushroom) 
• Acrylic paint, brushes, etc. 
• Scrapbook paper (Black)
• Hot glue
• Pencil

If you don't have a Cricut, don’t worry! This is not an essential part of the process; the letters can be made another way. You could purchase sticker letters, cut them out by hand, paint them on, or use markers.

The only item on the list necessary for this project is the scrapbook paper, since it will be the base of your decorations. Painting on the cap fabric can be difficult, but painting the paper separately will allow you to start over if needed.

I used black paper because I planned to paint it completely, and the underside of the paper would blend in with the cap. However, if you want to start with a flat background, I recommend using a paper color that matches your vision!

STEP 3: Cutting out the scrapbook Base

To begin, remove the button on top of the cap. Some buttons are easier to remove than others. Mine was quite difficult, while my sister’s popped right off.

If the button comes off easily, removing it provides a very easy way to attach the paper when finished. However, if yours does not come off easily (as mine did not), I recommend leaving the button on. 

If the button was removed, center a piece of scrapbook paper over the cap and poke a hole through using the pin in the center of the cap.  Make sure the scrapbook paper covers the whole cap. Trace around the edge of the cap and cut on the line to make the base of the design.

If you didn't remove the button, place the cap on the scrapbook paper and trace around it.  Cut out the square. Then draw two lines between diagonal corners to make an X shape on the back of the paper. In the center, draw a small circle about the size of your button and cut it out.  The finished cap design will fit over the button on the cap. 

Step 4: Decorating the Cap

From here, what to do will depend on the design you choose. Started by sketching the design to get an idea of where I would place everything.

Then, you can paint your design with acrylic paints or use another method, such as markers, colored pencils, or stickers.

Depending on your vision, you could do any number of things. If you’re interested in making a photo collage, visit our decoupage page for some ideas!

After painting the base, I added the lettering. The letters were cut out using a Cricut cutting machine with white and gold glitter vinyl. This was my first time using the Cricut, so I had trouble transferring the vinyl onto the cap. Make sure to buff the lettering before peeling off the transfer tape!

Other options for the lettering are to purchase premade letter sheets, paint the letters using paint pens, draw them on with colored pencils, or even print and carefully cut them out. It’s important to add the text before adding any 3D elements to have enough space for your saying.

Step 5: Attaching your 3D Elements

Finally, add the 3D elements to the cap design. I started with the moss since it was the largest portion of my design.  Attach the elements with hot glue, craft glue, or superglue. I don't recommend using glue sticks, as they won’t provide a secure attachment. 

Step 6: Attaching your decorations

If you removed the button in the previous steps, place your paper on the cap using the hole you poked and replace the button. Use double-sided tape to hold the paper to the cap more securely.

I recommend using tape or some easily removable adhesive, just in case your school asks you to remove it. After graduation, however, feel free to glue it down so it’s more permanent!

If you did not remove the button, carefully slip the paper over it through the hole in the center of the design. Add plenty of tape to your cap to ensure the paper doesn’t fall off.