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.
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
thank you so much for sharing. i hope with my limited sewing skill, I can manage to make one for my little one for her 2nd birthday. much appreciate.
Posted by: Ｓheau | April 21, 2011 at 12:31 AM
Judy, here is a link to the crown I made for my little one.http://2littlebeans.com/birthday-crown
Posted by: Ｓheau | May 21, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Sorry I meant Jess.
Posted by: Ｓheau | May 21, 2011 at 11:33 AM
Excellent work, this is such a sweet variation. Thank you for posting this
Posted by: Forex Software | June 29, 2011 at 11:21 AM
Hi, guy. I am so glad to come here and read your story. The world changes every day. Expect the next surprise!
Posted by: wedding veils | August 20, 2011 at 12:25 AM
hi! I'm from Italy, and yesterday I made my first crown! it's for my mum, she is 50 next week :) i hope she likes it! thanx!
Posted by: laureta | September 15, 2011 at 08:23 AM
I made two of these for my girls and plan on making one for the baby boy in my tummy too :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-grace-diaries/6271999126/in/set-72157627832571235
Posted by: Grace | October 23, 2011 at 06:16 AM
Love this crown, wonderful job!! Where do you get your wool?
Posted by: Meg Dion | December 12, 2011 at 09:51 AM
I am so very grateful for this tutorial! We have made one for a friend's birthday and I have three that I am working on now for our 3 youngest daughters. I also have the owl ornament on the to do list for a Jan. birthday. :)
Posted by: Fertile Ground | December 16, 2011 at 11:01 AM
So cute i love it! thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Make handmade | December 29, 2011 at 03:08 AM
Thank you for this tutorial. I am going to try to make one for my son's bday in a couple of weeks.Have you tried it with regular felt? I don't know where to get wool felt. Also do you have a suggestions for where to get templates for the letters? Thanks.
Posted by: Lan | January 29, 2012 at 03:43 AM
I love the font and cannot find it. What font was used? Thanks for sharing I love the crown.
Posted by: Alicia | March 27, 2012 at 01:54 PM
Beautiful! This is exactly what I was looking for to make for my daughter's fourth birthday.
Posted by: Karen | March 30, 2012 at 01:31 AM
Beautiful! I made a poor mans crown for my sons 5th birthday. Nowhere as nice as yours. Where do you get your felt?
+1
Posted by: zombie flash game | July 10, 2012 at 08:19 PM
Yes! I love this! Great tutorial, thanks!
I also would love to know where you get your felt. It looks absolutely lovely and soft.
Thanks for posting!
Posted by: Morgan Stevens | August 30, 2012 at 07:37 AM