I’m down to the wire…again…we’re getting ready to watch
Westworld and I am frantically watermarking photos and drafting my weekly
blog. This week I had 3 rehearsals, 1
orchestra concert, 2 gigs, a recital and an audition (at which I did quite well
and advanced, but that is for another blog).
Busy doesn’t begin to describe what I was this week. Then throw in a Royal Wedding and it’s no
wonder I feel like I haven’t slept in days…because I haven’t, ha!
A few years ago after Wills and Kate sealed the deal I
became slightly obsessed with fascinators.
A colleague (who also enjoyed crafting) and I would find any excuse to
make the over the top pieces of head wear.
We wore them to concerts, weddings, special events, you name it we made
and wore them. With the festivities this
week (as well as my second horn and organ recital) I thought it would be fun to
make a new fascinator for myself and special one for P too! The last royal
wedding Hubby and I made mimosas and ate monkey bread off crystal plates! This
time we dressed the kids up and had fancy lemon cakes (from Costco) and watched
the royal “I Do’s” We had a great time and I love that we are creating so many
fun memories for our kids.

People think making things like fascinators are hard, but
they are actually very easy (especially if you use hot glue/tacky
glue). Now my preference is to sew
everything. I like the finished look and
the security, no worries about glue popping off, but in a pinch I’ve been known
to plug in the 'ole glue gun and if you’re interested in making your own hat
feel free to do the same. The truth is no
one will ever be close enough to even tell!
I use all sorts of knick knacks and accessories for my hats. Wire, buttons, beads, different fabric trims,
pipe cleaners, crystals, tulle, netting, faux florals, vines, birds(!)…the sky is the limit. You want to think about how you
want to wear it. Do you want it to be on a headband? Clipped in? Alligator
clip? Then you need to make a base that can be attached to your preferred method of wearing. I often will sew a base with simple cotton
and batting or even use felt. Then start to build. There is no right or
wrong way to make these pieces of art…just sit down and start putting things together
and before you know it you too will have your very own one of a kind royally
inspired headdress! Twist your ribbons, mix beads and think outside the box. If you get stuck take a break. This project is actually a great practice in meditation. While I prefer much "louder" hats, I was happy with my simple purple mum, peacock and crystal creation for the purpose of wearing to my recital and P loved her pink, pink and more pink hat she wore to celebrate the royal nuptials.
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Simple dollar store ribbon with wire edges is folded and the loops set off from each other. |
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Everything on P's hat is sewn. I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't come apart should Bubba somehow get a hold of it. |
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I cut clear beads from some upholstery trim, picking and choosing the beads I wanted to add to the flowers. |
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Done but missing something...later I glued a yellow butterfly to the ribbon and it was perfect! |
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Simple hair clip, again sewn down to withstand the rigors of a four year old. |
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She loves it! |
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A tip for working with faux flowers. TAKE THEM APART! |
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I attached the peacock feather to the interior structure of the flower. |
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All out of wire I had to painstakingly pull the "fuzz" out of some pipe cleaner! |
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Pressed for time and now after midnight I opted to grab the glue gun. |
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The middle was missing something so I glued several clear beads together to make a "brooch" for the middle of the flower. |
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I folded a felt piece in quarters and then trimmed the corners to make the base. |
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And then did it again... |
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Take one of the two "bases" and fold it lengthwise and cut some perpendicular slits. |
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The slits allow for you to mount the hat to a headband (slide it through the different slits), use a large alligator clip or even use barrettes and/or bobby pins to attach to your hair. |
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A bit understated for me...but it did the job! |
I went thru my old pictures and pulled picts of all the hats and fascinators I have made to date.
You've got some good ones there! In one picture, I thought you incorporated the chandelier into the fascinator!
ReplyDeleteI didn't notice until you pointed it out! I may have to use that an inspiration for a future one!!
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