If you need something to adorn your head to finish your medieval or renaissance costume, you could make yourself a fabric medieval circlet. A medieval circlet is a hoop shaped ‘crown’ that sits on the head and can be worn with or without a veil. If you are making a fabric medieval circlet, you can tailor make it to compliment the rest of your costume. If you have made your dress, you would use left over fabric to make the circlet.
To make a Fabric Medieval Circlet you will need…
Some Fabric,
Soft toy stuffing,
Ribbon, lace beads or contracting fabric to decorate.
First you need to cut out the fabric that will form the main part of the circlet. If you are making the circlet for someone you know, you can measure their head to make the correct size. Otherwise cut a rectangle of material that is 60cm long and about 6cm wide. The width is your own personal preference, and you can make the circlet chunkier or thinner if you prefer.
Fold the strip in half lengthways with the right sides of the fabric together. Sew along the length edge and turn right sides out.
Lightly stuff the ‘tube’ with some toy stuffing. Try not to make it lumpy. Fold the end bits of fabric in to cover over the ends.
With the seam on the inside, bring the two tube ends round to meet one another and sew them together to form a hoop. Try to keep the stitches small and discreet, but don’t worry about them too much because they can be hidden under ribbon.
At the seam that you have just stitched (the back of the circlet) anchor a length of ribbon with a couple of stitches. Now wrap the ribbon evenly around the circlet to give a candy stripe look. Tack the end of the ribbon to the back of circlet. Then cut a couple of lengths of ribbons to tack to the back of the circlet. Tie a bow in one of the lengths of ribbon and sew this in place on top of the other tacked ribbons.
Add a veil to the circlet by simply taking a rectangle of organza, edge the organza with ribbon and then gather the top edge with a row of running stitches. Sew the gathers to the back inside edge of the circlet.
