32: C is for crown

My little princess is 4 going on 24...No she doesn't wear makeup or get pushed to grow up too fast, but sometimes I can't get over how wise she seems.  So when she gets excited about something young, sweet, and wholesome, I'm all for it.

As most of you know, I made a cute wool felt crown for Theo's birthday and Aurora loved it.  So, of course, I had to make another more girly version.  

And this time, just for you, I made a tutorial.  Without further ado...here it is:

Materials:

2 pieces of wool felt at least 5.5" x 14.5"

Some additional scraps of wool felt

2 1/4" x 10" scrap of fabric

5 1/2" long piece of 3/4" elastic

1 piece of heavyweight fusible interfacing  5.5" x 14.5"

Coordinating thread

small decorative items (vintage buttons, etc.)

Crown Pattern

I used 100% wool felt.  I can't say enough good things about it.  It just feels soooo nice.  I'm no expert so I don't know what the difference is... I can't say it needs to be 100%.

Directions:

1. Cut out crown pieces (using pattern) of 2 different colors of wool felt.  It is possible to line the pattern up with the fold as indicated, but since the felt is so thick, I found it easier to make a full size pattern piece (it doesn't fit on regular paper so I didn't provide it) by taping two halves together.

2.  Trim the outside crown piece down about 1/4" on all sides except the ends.

3.  I used pinking shears on the top edge to fancy it up a bit.  You can do this on 1 or both long edges.

4.  Using the outside felt as a guide, cut a pieces of heavyweight fusible interfacing about 1/8"-1/4" smaller on all sides.  (It's probably possible to skip this since the felt is pretty thick, but I did one with only a lightweight interfacing and I really preferred the stiffness of the heavyweight interfacing).

5.  Fuse the interfacing onto the exterior crown piece according to manufacturer's directions.

6.  Cut 2 squares of scrap felt one 2 5/8" and one 2 1/4".

7.  Draw or print your child's inital so it is approximately 1 1/2" to 1 5/8" tall.  (This doesn't HAVE to be an initial, it could be lightning bolt, flower, butterfly, fleur de lis, or really anything you can think of)

8.  Cut out the letter pattern and place it on the front of the crown, as shown, to check the size.

9.  Cut the letter out of a felt scrap.

10.  Cut out decorations from the felt scraps or anything you want.  Get creative...you can really do anything you'd like on the sides.  For my daughter's I did double flowers with a vintage button in the center.    For my son's I did 3 squares turning each one 45 degrees and added a button in the center.  The patterns are provided for both.  See the detail pix below.

11.  Lay the crown and all decorations out flat to see how you like the placement.

12.  Sew the initial onto the smaller front square.  I used a blanket stitch on my machine.  Obviously any of it could be done by hand.

13.  I used a decorative stitch on my machine to sew the smaller square onto the larger one.

14.  Sew the whole block onto the center of the outside crown piece.  (NOTE: I sewed on all the decoration before I sewed the 2 layers together so the stitching would not show from the inside.)

15.  Next, sew the side decorations onto the outside crown piece.  For the flowers I stitched around the edge of the large one, but just used the button to sew on the smaller one.  For the squares I stitched around the smallest and largest ones.

16.  Sew the two crown layers together along the top and bottom, centering the outside layer on the inside one.  I used another decorative stitch on my machine for the bottom.  (NOTE: If you use a fancy stitch, you might want to leave the bottom until after you've inserted the elastic so it can go down as far as possible between the two layers.  I think this makes it stay on the head better.)  Your ends should line up fairly well...if not, trim them a little.

17.  Cut a piece of 3/4" elastic 5 1/2" long.  (NOTE: I suspect this size should fit just about any kids...it fit both my 1 year old and 4 year old and I could even stretch it onto my head.  But you might want to take measurements of your own and make adjustments.  If you have a smaller 1 year old, it's possible it would be big.)

18.  Cut a piece of fabric 2 1/4" x 10"

19.  Fold the fabric strip in half the long way with right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam down the long edge.

20.  Turn the strip right side out.  Press it flat so that the seam is in the center of one side.

21.  Insert the elastic, scrunching up the fabric as necessary so the ends meet.

22.  Baste each end through the fabric and and elastic.

23.  Insert this elastic piece with the seam to the back, into on end of the crown between the two layers.  I inserted it about 1/2" in, but you could use this step to adjust your length.  Putting it as close to the bottom of the crown (but still between the two layers) as possible helps the crown stay one better without covering your little one's eyes.

24.  Sew across the ends through both layers and the elastic in the middle.  Backstitch over that line for added durability.

25.  Insert the other end of the elastic into the other side of the crown, making sure it's not twisted.  Stitch across that end in the same manner.

26.  Trim all threads and you're done!

Now your little one is royalty...

JT

 

Comments

[Jackie]

I stumbles upon your pattern on pinterest. So glad I did! Here's the one I made:
http://bornambitous-bornimaginative.blogspot.com/2012/09/birthday-crown.html

[Jackie]

*stumbled.

[Marianne]

Do you sell these crowns? I love them!

[Vida]

Thank you for your fantastic tutorial. I made a crown for my 8year old son. My husband was a bit sceptical wether he will wear it. But My son not only was very pleased with it, he also asked if he could wear it for a week when next birthday comes along. Now I am looking forward to sew crowns also for my other two sons. Thanks again

[beth c]

beautiful beautiful!! thank you so much for sharing this- i can only hope the crown i make for my son's birthday turns out half as lovely as this!! :)

[Sharnee Torrents]

Thanks sooo much for this wonderful tut!!
I totally gave them a whirl and they turned out GREAT!! I'm not even a very good sewer (actually bought my machine to use on my cards) but this was lots of fun!!
Thanks again HEAPS!! Check it out here if you like...
http://torrentsfamily.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/nursery-rhyme-unit-study-week-2-sing.html
Smiles Sharnee :)

[lyson]

wouah, très jolies, je vais en fabriquer deux pour la crêche ou va ma fille,merci !

[Heather]

Love this!!! Thanks for a GREAT tutorial! I plan to make some of these as birthday party favors!!!

[Lindsay]

This is an excellent tutorial! I made one about 6 months ago for my older daughter, and I'm about to make one for my 1 year old. Thanks so much! I love how they look :) I also pinned this tutorial.
Best,
Lindsay

[Carla]

I just loved it !
Very nice ideia. I'm going to do it for sure