/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

Suwako guy here.
I'm thinking about what I should do about her hat. I /could/ just buy a normal straw hat, but I kind of want it to be nice and smooth, like in this picture. Almost soft.
What's a good way to go about doing this? Get a straw hat and then just cover it in some fabric? Would that work? Like I said, first time cosplayer here so I don't know very much ;-;