DIY Lace head piece

I was going to do a really pretty necklace from ribbon today, but I can't find the spool of ribbon I bought for it. I'm totally bummed because I wanted to wear it tomorrow, but there's always Friday!
Normally, I'd be better prepared for an event such as this, but I'm recovering from food poisoning today so I don't have the energy to run into town and get extra supplies. SO- I made something out of just a very few items that I had on hand. That should tell you how easy this project is :)


supplies



I have a lace jacket I got from Express years ago. I never wear it and I was going to donate it, but then I realized that the lace pattern was really pretty and I could make TONS of things out of it. So, I kept it. Since today I couldn't make the necklace, I decided to make a head piece out of the lace. I ended up making it an actual headband, but I kind of pictured it with a stretch band (for the halo look) and a ribbon (for a fascinator) as well. I'm really excited about doing a gorgeous fascinator for a future blog (special event, or even wedding-ish), but it isn't quite ready yet.

Generally, I would have liked to make this a little more "finished", but all the things I wanted to finish it with aren't at my house. I'll talk more about later... but for now... the steps!

STEP ONE:Trace the shape you'd like out on to a piece of card stock. I did kind of a vintage-ish shape. You can make it a circle, square, rectangle, flower... any shape that suits you. OR, you can do lots of little shapes (little flowers or what not) and put them together.
After you trace your shape, cut it out and trace the pattern on to a piece of felt. Remember, you will see the felt underneath your fabric, so choose a coordinating color. After that, pin your card stock to the felt and trace again. I had to pin mine because I used black felt and was tracing with a black sharpie. If you have lightly colored materials, pinning won't be necessary. Just remember to put the side that you traced onto facing down. You don't want any leftover markings to show :)

STEP TWO:

Hot glue your felt to your lace. I put the hot glue on to the thick, black parts of the lace so that it wouldn't show through. Depending on what color lace you use, it may not be a problem at all. Just remember to glue the lace and NOT the felt. If you glue the felt, giant globs of hot glue will show through the lovely holes in the lace. Once the lace it attached to the felt, trim up any areas that look strange. I decided I wanted my shape to be a little bit more dramatic, so I trimmed in the indentations more.

STEP THREE:

attached to a ribbon

This is optional: spice up your lace. You can add buttons down the center (pretty ones, not standard), ribbon, crystals... whatever suits you. I'm probably going to run a black ribbon down the center, or accent the flowers in the lace with an iridescent (or maybe glittery) puffy paint. I'm a firm believer that glitter and bling can be done wrong, so we'll see. For this piece, it isn't entirely necessary to add anything. For the upcoming fascinator, it will be 100% mandatory!

STEP FOUR:Fun fact: my best friend's name is Steph. This is the FIRST time in all of my blogging that I was able to type STEP instead of STEPH. I'm not lying. The very first. It's so intense that I had to stop what the entire tutorial to make you, dear reader, aware.

attached to a stretch band

Anyway... attach your lace piece to the head wear of your choice. I show it attached to a stretch band (to wear OVER your hair, like a halo- think flapper), a piece of ribbon (to fasten around your head) and a regular headband. If you're attaching it to the first two, you can apply hot glue down the center of the lace piece and then attach it. If you're putting it on a headband, go to the mirror with the headband on your head and see where you want it to lay (I like mine almost on the side of my head). Then, either mark it physically or hold it down with your hands, lifting up one side at a time to be glued down on to the band.

Another shot on the headband

It's really cute on. I'd show you, but again.. recovering from food poisoning. The only person who should see me right now is the person who lives with me. And if I could stop HIM from seeing me, I would.

Just a side note: if you go to the store to buy lace, you can get lace that has already been modified. This is an easier option if you don't feel comfortable enhancing your own lace.

And now, it's back to bed for me. Tomorrow is a full day of work and ballet class. I *have* to be ready for ballet tomorrow! Enjoy your day, the weather looks BEAUTIFUL in Michigan today, and I hear it's going to be a *real* Indian summer this weekend.

Pin It