Current mood:

calm

How to sew a basic headdress + some tricks.

Earlier on someone asked for tips on sewing a headdress so I've made a small tutorial for that.

Before you go behind the cut, please note this piece was crafted solely for this purpose. Lace should not be applied to this amount (at least not to my liking) - it really is like icing on top of icing. I only put it all in so I could add more advice on how-to-dos. ^_^;

Also note the whole entry will be written in bad English, but please be patient with me, it's my third language... and feel free to ask if I've not explained something well enough.

Start off by cutting two rectangular pieces of fabric. If you're planning to make a rounded one, cut them rounded. Simple, not?

One of these pieces is going to be the top of the headdress and the other will be used as lining. The lining is important for it supports the whole thing. Zig zag around the edges to prevent fraying.

Now onto some tips.

"How to make a ruffle."

Cut a length of lace, ribbon or fabric you're going to use for the ruffle. It should be approximately twice as long as the headdress.

Make small sticthes along the edge of lace like shown above. The pull the thread and gather the lace into a ruffle.

Contrary to popular belief, the iron is your friend. It'll flatten the lace nicely and it'll be easier to sew in place. Be careful setting the temperature as lace burns easily.

And if you're planning to use a sewing machine, do stitch the pieces together first by hand. This will save loli hair from being pulled out in frustration later on.

You can of course stitch all the decorations in place one by one, but the fastest way (tidiest too) is to sew them all in one go. The satin ribbon hides the edges of lace - both the ruffled and the middle - and is sewn in along both sides. Above pictures show how the headdress should now look.

How to attach lace/ruffle all around the headdress:

Look carefully at the picture. This way the wrong edges of lace (and especially if you're planning a ruffle here) will be "inside" the headdress once it's finished. Looks professional, prevents fraying, do it even though it's more work, because I say so.

And make sure there's enough lace for the corner. See where I've gathered in some extra?

Try to make the ends "merge" into each other discreetly - it's best to cut the lace/ruffle a bit longer than seems necessary.

How to make the lining:

Place both pieces together so that the right sides face each other. Sew along the edges, leave the other end open. The ribbon/s that is/are used to tie the headdress on can be sewn in at this point. If you look carefully, you may see the ends poking out the left-hand side - you can't see the actual ribbon because it's between the headdress and the lining. I now notice I should have taken a better picture of all this, but hopefully you understand... if not, feel free to ask!

Then cut some fabric diaconally off the corners (see picture above) and turn the headdress inside-out.

When you're closing the other end, the iron will once again be your friend. First iron it in place, then sew along the edge once again. Be sure to attach the other side's ribbon/s now. You can do the same on the other side, if you prefer this way of attaching ribbons to the one I explained (poorly) above. This particular piece has two of them but I assure you one is enough if it's a bit wider.

These two headdresses can, for example, be made using these techniques.

Go for it... ^_^