In a couple of months we’ll be setting sail on our 8th cruise to the Caribbean.  This time around out ports of call will be Aruba, Bonaire, the Dominican Republic and Grand Turks.  #soexcited

I’ve already started picking up a few new items for the trip, one of which was a new sun hat for me.  A plain straw hat would have worked fine but I had to give my hat a little extra something-something.

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DIY MONOGRAM STRAW HAT

Here’s how the project started…

I bought this basic wide brim hat from Wal-Mart for under $5.00 ($3.35 to be exact).  You can see that it has a thin brown cord as a decorative touch but the brown wasn’t working for me.  Neither was the plain brim.

So I replaced the cord with a black and white striped ribbon and added my monogram to the back of the brim.  Instant style!

All it took to replace the cording was a few snips with the scissors and some fabric glue to attach the new ribbon.

To create my monogram, I purchased some white iron-on letters from Hobby Lobby.  These are the same brand of letters I used to make my monogram napkins.

What I love about these letters is they allow you to create a true three-letter monogram.

The only downside is the letters only come in white so your design options are limited.

I came up with an easier solution and all it took was a Sharpie.  To get the black letters I wanted, I used a Permanent Sharpie Marker and colored over each letter.

All that was left to do was to position my monogram onto the back of the hat and iron it in place.

(before ironing, cover the letters with a piece of fabric so you don’t get ink on your iron or burn your letters)

This was such an easy update and now my hat that looks like it was made for a Mediterrian cruise.

The hat is available in four other colors so take your pick and make your own chic summer sun hat.