Fascinator DIY
Oct 20, 2011 by Violet
I don’t know about the rest of the world but here in Aus it’s horse racing season and everyone is talking about it. Surprisingly though actually living *in* Melbourne I hear less about the Melbourne cup than I did in Brisbane XD Still everyone is getting into Spring carnival mode and the retailers here are pushing it pretty hard to try and claw back some of the sales lost online.
The discussion is the same every year though: “What hat will you be wearing?!”
For me the answer is usually “Ugh, hat?” because I’ve only been once and it wasn’t to a major race.
Fascinators are very popular with my friends but I’ve always thought 99% of them look a little silly because they tend to look like someone’s tried to built some kind of sculpture on your head but gotten bored half way through ;) So James challenged me to make one that I didn’t hate and remembering the 1% that I do like (generally very vintage themed) this is what came out:
I’m still not completely sold ;)
What I used:
- Milliners netting which we found in the black hole downstairs
- Hot glue
- Fake flowers
- Black lace
- Hair Comb
- Some dangly trim my Mum cut off one of her tops
So the key to these is the netting, it needs to be quite stiff. You could use stiff tulle if you want.
It was very hard to photograph it though being white so excuse the next few photos. So first thing I did was cut a long rectangle and fold in half.
I placed the two bottom corners over one of each other…
Squished the middle down on top of the two corners and hold in place! You can sew it in place or glue it to hold it while you go get the comb part.
You can stitch it to the comb if you want but I figured I wasn’t going to be wearing this very often so I decided on glue.
The comb part goes under facing the same way as the bulk of the fabric.
To give the front a point of interest I glued some bling to it. I did want to do it all the way around the edges but didn’t have enough. The netting I was using didn’t fray because it’s plastic but I would suggest edging/hemming/covering the edges with something to prevent it degrading over time. I left the rest of mine plain because I thought with the colour, the slightly deconstructed look made it blend to my hair a bit better.
So the bling:
I wanted something pretty to cover the comb part so I added some fake flowers ^_^
It didn’t really match so I tied it all in by adding 2 layers of black lace as a frill.
Then glued it on.
Then to cover all of the icky parts on the inside I glued a strip of lace over it all.
Give it a while to cool down and avoid gluing it to your hair ;)
Finished!
So I’m not really a fascinator convert but I do quite like this one and it was fun to do something different :D I probably like it because it looks much more like a veil haha!
Hopefully you found my adventures into diy fascinators useful ^_^ Is the culture of picking the right hat or fascinator for the races as big everywhere else as it is here?
|
I like how the rhinestones frame your face. Your fascinator turned out just lovely.
You are too sweet, thank you <3
Personally I think fascinators are silly and confusing, but yours is really really cute. I guess I just don’t get them. It’s not really a hat and it’s kind of an overgrown hair ornament… but it’s not really…? o_O Hats are hats, buy a nice hat. ESPECIALLY if you happen to be the first person in line for the royal wedding. *COUGHCOUGHICOULDN’TBELIEVETHATWOMAN*
Here in the US, racing and hats is probably just a Kentucky thing where they hold the first big horse race of the season. I know other people attempt to do the hat thing, but… it’s usually either a half-assed attempt for tradition’s sake or a comical take on hats.
THIS! I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t just wear a hat! People take it insanely serious here, I mean there are novelty ones but they actually devote news time to it on tv *_*
How sweet! You are so adoreble! :3
loves, saar♥
Thanks Sara!
I think I have a similar opinion about fascinators that you have. XD I like the way yours came out, though! I think you chose a nice color palette, too, which can probably make a difference in fascinators~.
You’re probably right, if it had been fluro pink it probably would have been just as terrible!
I really love the contrast, the colour choice really takes it from plain to interesting.
I have always had a soft spot for blue/black combinations for some reason :D
I love this! I’m a big fan of fascinators, and I have quite a large collection of them. Some are store-bought and some I’ve made myself. They’re such fun and I always feel so posh when I’m wearing one.
And you’re one of the few people I’ve seen wearing them that I actually like, you always do it with such class!
lovely! But yewah some can get out of hand o.0″ not urs though, very demure <3 La parfait now has huge decoded bows that I think can act as an accent, non?
Waa you’re making me want to order one!!
I love it! Are you making one for me?
Mwaha I am totally going to send you one :D
You may not be sold on fascinators, but I personally think that looks very good on you. :) Really love the DIY fascinator, it looks beautiful. Now all you just need is a black lace choker to match it. :) Personally I don’t really wear hats unless it’s winter. I’m more of a hair accessory type of person. xD We don’t really have those types of races here in Canada so yeah… ^^;
A black chocker would be lovely :) I don’t think you’re missing out on the races much, they are not so fun from what I’ve seen ^_^
I love hats but think that half the girls going to the cup look like they picked their hats without even knowing what outfit they are wearing. They look so mismatched.
Your fascinator is really cute.
YES, the mismatching is probably what bothers me than the actual items!
haha ‘which we found in the black hole downstairs’, classic Violet!
Very cute, though I agree the picture is hard to see with the white and all. But I do like the viel component ;) !!!
Thanks Vicky ^_^
I absolutely love the last picture of you. One of the most beautiful of you I think you’ve ever had on this site. :)
Aww thank you so much Stephanie <3
OMG that fascinator is gorgeous there are quite a few articles online about DIY hair accessories I wish I was less clumsy with my hands as I’d love to create one. I’d be great with the ideas but terrible at the practical. I just love wearing fascinators and oversized hair corsages. I too live near a race course so get plenty opportunity to wear one.
Very glad you enjoyed it :)