Prepare to Make History — and Zefram Cochrane’s Black Cap

Star Trek: First Contact is easily one of the scariest Trek movies (those icky Borg!), making it perfect for some Halloween costume inspiration.

In the film, Zefram Cochrane shows off a style that’s all his own, and some of our favorite Cerritos crew members recently rocked the same backwards cap in Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Put on some classic rock and get ready to make his iconic black cap for yourself with this how-to!

Step 1: Roll out the silver polymer clay until it’s a few millimeters thick. Cut out a square with the clay cutter.

Step 2: Cut the clay square in half. Use the rounded end of a clay sculpting tool to add texture to each rectangle and set aside.

Step 3: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you have 15 rectangles.

Step: 4: Again, roll out the silver polymer clay until it’s a few millimeters thick. Cut out a square with the clay cutter.

Step 5: Cut the clay square into four evenly-sized, smaller square pieces.

Step 6: Use the rounded end of a clay sculpting tool to add texture to each small square and set aside.

Step 7: Repeat Steps 4 through 6 until you have 16 small squares.

Step 8: Roll out small balls of the silver polymer clay and press them into flat circles about ½ inch in diameter.

Step 9: Use the rounded end of a clay sculpting tool to press an indentation into the center of the flat circle.

Step 10: Roll out an even smaller ball of the black polymer clay. Place it in the dimple you made and press it flat with the rounded end of a clay sculpting tool.

Step 11: Repeat Steps 8 through 10 until you have 12 silver circles.

Step 12: Roll out small balls of the black polymer clay and press them into flat circles about a ¼ inch in diameter.

Step 13: Repeat the previous step until you have 12 black circles.

Step 14: Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange all rectangles, squares, and circles on the pan. Bake according to the polymer clay instructions and let cool. Remove from the baking sheet.

Step 15: Next, use the measuring tape to measure the diameter of the black baseball cap.

Step 16: Cut two strips of pleather, each ½ inch wide and the length of the baseball cap diameter.

Step 17: Starting on the end of one strip, apply the vinyl adhesive with a toothpick or coffee stirrer to stick a silver circle on the pleather.

Step 18: Glue a black circle on the pleather strip an inch away from the silver circle you just glued.

Step 19: Continuing gluing alternate silver and black circles an inch apart along the strip until you reach the other end.

Step 20: Repeat Steps 17 through 19 on the other pleather strip, alternating the silver rectangles and squares.

Step 21: Let all glue dry.

Step 22: Using the black acrylic paint and thin paintbrush, paint a small black diamond in the center of the silver squares and rectangles. Let all paint dry.

Step 23: Hot glue one end of the pleather strip with the circles just above the brim. Wrap the pleather around the bottom edge of the cap, hot gluing it down as you go, until the strip makes it back around to the other end.

Step 24: Repeat Step 23 with the other pleather strip, hot gluing it just above the one you just glued to the hat.

Step 25: Use dirt, sand, or light brown or grey pastels to add weathering and age to the cap.

To complete the full costume, add a brown jacket, thin scarves, and more layers to the outfit from your closet or the thrift store. You might even make first contact with other Star Trek fans this Halloween when they recognize your unique look.

Kelly Knox (she/her) is a Seattle-area author and writer who also contributes to StarWars.com, DCComics.com, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox to talk about just about everything pop culture.

Star Trek: Lower Decks streams exclusively in the United States and Latin America on Paramount+, and is distributed concurrently by Paramount Group Content Distribution on Amazon Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, India and more, and in Canada on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.