DIY Flower Hat/Band

Last week I showed you guys my little floral hat/headband collection. I mentioned that I made the little hat/headband above from some stuff I had laying around my studio. It was truthfully very easy to make but a bit time consuming getting the placement of all of the leaves and flowers just right. I thought I would write up a little DIY instructions on how to make one for yourself!

Materials:
  - Gauge 19 millinery wire (or thick/stiff wire)
  - 1/4" velvet ribbon
  - silk/paper/ribbon flowers
  - needle and thread
  - florist tape or masking tape
  - hat block (optional but really helpful!)

First take your wire and make a crescent like shape in the size and width you would like your hat/headband. I made mine a little too small to be a hat and a little big to be a headband and if I were to make another one I would make it wider/bigger. It is easier at this point to bend the wire over/around your head in a mirror so you can get the shape you want. Once you have a crescent cut away any excess wire and secure the cut ends together with the tape, covering any sharp edges. Next wind the velvet ribbon around the wire at an angle to cover it.

 Do your best to wrap the ribbon evenly and then secure it at the end where you started with a few stitches and a little glue if necessary.

Next take some of your larger flowers or leaves (I used the leafy 'branches' from some silk flowers) and start placing them over the crescent shape to fill it in. I didn't want a particularly full look so I ended up using only four of the little branches crossed in an angle across my crescent. Tack the leaves/petals to the velvet ribbon where they touch. Once you have a base for other embellishments go for it and layer on some flowers! I got some sprigs of little flowers which allowed me to sort of drape them around. It ended up looking pretty bridal with just the green base and ivory flowers so I added some purple ribbon flowers and tiny pink silk flowers to make it less so.

the view from the back

The finished hat/band from the front

I was really pleased with how this little floral headpiece came out seeing as it started merely as an experiment. I hope to make others in the future including some to sell in my etsy shop. I think this basic idea could be used to create different hats for other seasons by using different types of flowers or embellishments and different colors of velvet ribbon.

In other news, I ended up going to the Renaissance Festival this weekend and threw together a costume for my brother (my first foray into menswear!) and a new costume for myself as well, more on that tomorrow!