Acting Props

Robin Hood Hat

Newspaper
Scissors
Pins
Green felt (approx. 55cm x 30cm)
Matching thread
Needle
Feather

1. To make sure the hat is the right shape and size, make up a newspaper template first. Draw out the pattern on a folded sheet of newspaper, placing one side on the fold as shown in diagram 1.
   Cut out.

2. Pin along two of the open sides (diagram 2), then turn inside out. Fold the curved edges up along the dotted line, to create two flaps, and try it on. If it is too small, draw out the pattern a little larger and repeat the process; if it too big then cut it down, re-pin it and try it on again.

3. Once you are pleased with the size of your hat, pin the newspaper pattern you have made to the piece of felt and cut round it.
   

4. Fold the felt in half and mark out a line within 1cm of the edge, along the two sides that you pinned before, on the newspaper template. Back stitch along the line. (Diagram 3)

False Beard

You will need:

Sheep’s wool (see note)
Very thin wire
Cotton thread to match
sheep’s wool
Sewing needle
Sticking plasters

1. Make the piece of sheep’s wool into the shape of beard that you want, pulling a hole in it for the mouth. When you are pleased with the shape, slip a length of the wire along the top of the beard, leaving a good end at either side to fasten round your ears.
   

2. Slip another piece of wire through the bottom of the beard (around the chin) and fasten one wire to the other by twisting the end as shown in diagram 1.

3. Tie one end of the cotton to the wire, and thread the other end onto the needle. Thread the cotton through the wool using it to bind the wool to the wire. Finish off on the other side of the beard with tying the end of the thread to the wire.
   

4. Stick the plasters round the ends of the wires and bend them round your ears, so the beard is tight and doesn’t slip down.

Note 1: Sheep’s wool makes the best beards. The white sheep’s wool is perfect for playing an old man, and dark brown is the other available colour. Gold and ginger can be made by soaking white sheep’s wool in a little water which has been boiled with onion skins for a long time.

Making a Bow and Arrow

1. A simple bow can be made with a long supple branch, thin enough to bend, but only with difficulty.

2. Carve out a deep notch in either end with a strong craft knife or pen knife.

3. Cut a piece of string a little longer than the bow, and tie a loop in each end. Use the ‘bowline’ knot below to make a loop which doesn’t slip. To ‘string the bow’ bend the branch and slip the loops into the notches, altering the length of the string if necessary to make it really taught. Leave the bow unstrung when not in use.