Okay, so I’ve been seeing these “Khabib hats” everywhere, and I finally decided to figure out what the deal was and make/get one of myself. Here’s how it all went down.
First Steps: What Even Is This Thing?
First, I googled it. I mean, that’s the obvious first step, right? I saw a bunch of pictures of this big, fluffy, kinda crazy-looking hat. I learned it is called Papakha. Apparently, it’s a traditional hat from the Caucasus region, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the UFC fighter, made it super popular.
Trying to Find a Pattern..Failed.
I initially thought, “I’ll just knit one!” I’m pretty decent with knitting needles. But, I quickly realized that finding a pattern for something like this was going to be rough. The ones I could get online looked…not great. Too small, wrong shape, just…off.
Plan B: The DIY Route
So, I scrapped the knitting idea. Instead, I decided to go full DIY. I figured, how hard could it be to basically just sew a big fluffy tube? (Famous last words, right?)
Materials Gathering
- I hit up a local fabric store.
- I found some long, shaggy faux fur. I went with a light beige color, similar to what I saw Khabib wearing.
- I also grabbed some lining fabric (something soft, so it wouldn’t be itchy), thread, and a needle.
- Also i bought a foam from a craft store.
The Construction Process (aka the Messy Part)
I started by cutting a large rectangle of the faux fur. I honestly just eyeballed the size, holding it up to my head and guessing. I cut the foam the same size with the faux fur.
Then, I cut a similar-sized piece of the lining fabric.
I sewed fur and foam together.
Then pinned the lining fabric to the inside, wrong sides together, and started sewing. The sewing was…challenging. Faux fur gets everywhere. It was like a furry explosion in my living room.
I basically sewed the long edges of the rectangle together to form a tube, then sewed one end of the tube shut to create the top of the hat.
I flipped the whole thing inside out so the lining was on the inside and the fur was on the outside.
The Final Result (and Some Lessons Learned)
It…kinda worked! It’s definitely big and fluffy, and it looks like a Papakha. It’s not perfect, the seams are a little wonky, and it’s probably a bit too big, but hey, I made it myself!
If I were to do it again, I’d probably spend more time measuring and maybe even create a paper pattern first. And I’d definitely wear a mask to avoid inhaling a lungful of faux fur. But overall, I’m pretty happy with my homemade Khabib hat!
