I have loads of wonderful girlfriends who I love to treat during the holidays. But as with anyone, what do you get the gal who has everything (when you can’t buy them Fluevogs)? This year I decided to try my hand at handmade fascinators, each one adorned, decorated, and bedazzled to suit the lady’s fab personality.
Each hat is made of a teardrop buckram base– and is apparently one of the most difficult hat shapes to pattern to! It looks so easy and uncomplicated; thankfully I have the wit & wisdom of a costume shop to help me through those moments when I’m throwing hats across the house. Many are covered in silk dupioni, with vintage lace, embroidery, feathers, and odds used to decorate each of them!
This one has a twin– for two huge Saints loving fans in my life. Photos don’t do justice to the colors reflected in this vintage lace!
For a super fab girlfriend– a vintage inspired fascinator! It’ll go spectacularly with her two-tone hair and sky-high shoes.
The following two are probably two of my favorites. They’re patterned off the Sublime Stitching The Black Apple pattern (which I picked up from Miss Malaprop).
I love the eerie, creepy Bavarian children vibe of the design, as if they’re Children of the Damned surrounded by books, birds, and candy-colored houses. (The first is meant to look like the friend’s young son, making it more creepy!)
Making these were such a blast– it was fabulous using up so many of my odds and ends in the craft closet, building something new, and hopefully having girlfriends squeal with delight at the pieces.
Did you go the homemade route at all this holiday season? Have any great tried and true tutorials for me to try?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, these are truly beautiful – a gift to cherish. Your friends are lucky!
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Thank you, sunshine! I hope my friends love them as much as I had fun making them.
Gorgeous! You’ve got some serious skills…and very lucky friends.
Well, I don’t know about serious skills– you can see thread and glue up close. And I hope they feel lucky! I had fun making them & wanted to keep them ALL.
Wow! Those are incredible – I love the top one with the vintage lace. Is it hard to learn how to make them? My sewing skills are limited to quilts at the moment. I love that handmade can be adapted to the recipient, it means that you can play with colour schemes and styles that you wouldn’t normally choose for yourself – like a massive very pink quilt I made for my sister in law. I’m about to try a clutch tutorial and a camera strap tutorial – I’ll let you know if they are any good!
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Clare– yes & no? It was hard to get a hang of, but once I had someone show me how to make the shape, it became a lot easier. I did a lot of cheats, too, like hot gluing the seams instead of stitching them (was on a time crunch!). They were really satisfying to make though…
And girl, it’s hella crazy you make quilts! I’d love to do that one day, but I’m certain I don’t REALLY have the patience for it.
Ah ok – maybe I should think of signing up for a class in hatmaking! They do corsetry classes at the local art school, so maybe they will do millinery too. Also – I don’t think it’s cheating when you are on a schedule, I’m trying to cut that word out as it does the work down. Cheating? No. Shortcut? Yes. Also quilts are nice because they don’t have to fit, they just have to be cosy!
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You are all ready for a midnight showing of The Great Gatsby!
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This is a cool project. I really like how unique and individual each piece turns out to be. That makes for an extra special gift, since it’s so customizable to the specific recipient.
Thanks for posting on my blog about responding to readers! I just replied to the comment, but I’ll post it here, too. (Just in case!) I should have been more clear. I definitely try to respond to comments, because connecting with readers and bloggers is what makes this a fun hobby. But, I no longer sweat it if I can’t reply to every spammy “loooooove” this comment. (You know, the kind that you can tell someone has copied and pasted on 50 other blogs?)
I’m really impressed I wish that handy enough to make my own. If a friend gave me one as a present i’d really chuffed. The red one with the feather is my favourite. Fascinators are so much fun to wear I love it when I get the opportunity to wear one.
Good day! I just wish to give a huge thumbs up for the good info you’ve got here on this post. I will be coming again to your weblog for more soon. we are always seeking for fun things to do. Great stuff, just great! I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post. Thanks again!
Homemade is the way to go. I custom hand painted a teapot for my girlfriend to match art she had on her wall from her childhood. She appreciates the effort and also hand makes her own facial mask and other cosmetics.
Cheers!
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