Building Fairy Tiaras

I now dub me Queen of Tiaras.

These tiaras were hand made for the fairies of Kingsmen Shakespeare’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I created the frames for all of the tiaras in front of me with the exception of the far right tiara. The green tiara to the far left and the gold tiara with the red third eye immediately in front of me were both beaded by me as well.

Here’s how I did it!

Materials you will need:
– Lightweight coathangers
– Gaff or Duct Tape
– Ribbon
– Needle and Thread
– Floral wire (optional – this was not available for me)
– Beads

First, I cut up a bunch of lightweight coat hangers and molded them into interesting shapes using a pair of needle nose pliers. If you aren’t a super strong Hulk like me, I would suggest finding a stronger person to assist you in the cutting of hangers. Once you have the shapes you want (I would suggest drawing them out on paper and then placing the wire against the paper as you bend it to ensure your shapes come out the way you want…and that they are symmetrical) you’ll want make a circle to fit your head or the head of the person wearing the tiara. Then you will attach the shapes you’ve made to the circular headpiece using gaff or duct tape (I used gaff).

Moth Tiara Frame
Mustard Seed Tiara Frame
After you have your tiara frame secured, you’ll want to wrap the entire frame in ribbon to make it look pretty, but also to give you a surface you can use to sew beads onto. For these tiaras; I used a gold metallic ribbon, a seafoam green satin ribbon, and a silver lace ribbon. Of these three, I found the satin worked best for stitching beads onto and generally providing coverage of the tiara base. As you wrap the base, be sure to pull the ribbon tight and be cautious of bunching. You want the ribbon to lay as flat to the base as possible. When you reach the end of a ribbon strand, fold it over and stitch the end to the base.

Now you are ready for beads! Find some beads that you like and go to town! to attach the beads, I used a needle and thread (quadruple treading my needle to support the beads). You can play with your thread tension to create arches, loops, drops, and straight lines in your tiara. If you would prefer, you could also use floral wire rather than a needle and thread to provide more structure. Just be sure that your floral wire is wrapped tightly around the base and the ends are covered up with hot glue, ribbon, or tape so as not to stab the head.

Once your beading is complete, try the tiara and fit it to the head by bending it until it is comfortable and looks the way you want! Happy Beading!