Tricorn

I would venture to say most, if not all, of us are on a tight budget nowadays. That said if you want an alternative to paying $60 and up for a tricorn or finished round hat, here's what you can do.

In either case find a hat blank, normally around $20-$30. Then add your own tape and ties. The example I'll use is what I am currently working on. I took my current tricorn (originally a hat blank) and removed the ties. I then cleaned it off. I wanted to get a military looking tricorn so I had some "Double Fold Bias Tape Quilt Binding 7/8" wide." That is what I am putting around my edge as tape. I will also cut this down to remake the ties I cut off. As I am hand sewing (you could machine sew) I put in a couple of sewing pins to hold the tape in place for a couple of inches at a time in front of where I'm sewing.

I will finish it off with a cotton liner and resew the button and some bias tape to hold the cockade.

Before I had neither tape nor a liner. The liner will just make it a little nicer and personal. I would have used black tape had I had it for the "officer" appearance, but you work with what you have (and I didn't feel like driving to the fabric store). I will update with more pictures as I progress.