Medievial Coronets Tutorial

Our children have always been huge Medieval fans. We have studied this time period a few times with different children and we often have children dress up and play in this time period.
We have had these type of coronets for many years and the girls just love wearing them. They are used for play and have been worn to church too.
For the girls Confirmation I made some new ones for them. This is our third lot of these in the house.

Her is a tutorial on how I made them~
Supplies:
circlet
flat wadding
panne velvet of your choice (1/2 is so very ample with plenty left over for other projects)
string of the little pearl looking beads in colours of choice 2 m of each colour ( I have no idea what these are called. I can't seem to find a name for them anywhere)
ribbon from 1/2 cm up to 1 1/2 cm I bought about 3m in differing colours
optional - bridal veil fabric I used the softer version not the stiff ( I bought about 1/2 meter and have some spare)
the usual thread, needles and pins
First off you need a solid circle for the base, ours were of metal but it could be a wooden one. Make sure it is larger than the head size. They easily slipped over the girls heads.
Next wrap around the circlet some padding of some sort. I used some old batting from quilting.
First I cut a very long strip about 5-7cm wide to wrap around. I think flat wadding works best and not stuffing that you would use for toys etc. I then sewed the last piece in place to ensure it didn't unravel.
Next get your panne velvet and cut a long strip about 5-10 cm wide. The wider it is the harder it is to manage.
Sew the starting edge on to the wadding and then start wrapping around the wadding
GO in the OPPOSITE direction to the way you applied the wadding.
Try to keep the panne velvet from rolling up on the edges as you wind on. Once again sew the ends with small stitches to secure in place.
Use your string of beads to wind around the fabric. Once again sew in place over the little gap between the beads.
NB: You can use ribbon in place of these beaded strings. We have one coronet with one string of beads an the alternate one as ribbon. So if you can't get them just use ribbon. It still looks great.
Use your alternate colour to reverse the direction of your beading or ribbon.
Make sure you sew both the start and the finish of the beading or ribbon and cut the remainder off.
The other coloured coronet.
A side view to show the criss-crossing of the beading.
Cut your ribbon into lengths of approx 45cm each. Use different colours for a prettier affect.
We just tie them on to the back of the coronet but you could sew them on.
We tie them on as this allows for a change of colour of the ribbons and its easy to replace if one of them is damaged lost etc.
As you can see they tie very neatly underneath the coronet.
Voila...... a finished coronet.
For the Confirmation I wanted to add a veil to it as well. This is once again a Medieval style as they often had veils of some sort.
To get the size I wanted I just place the veil fabric over the top of the coronet and cut into the shape I wanted.
Next overlock the hems all around.
Next check the sizing together and pin it on for a test run on your victim.
Sew the veiling into place
I left the back part un-sewn so to allow the veil to slip through and the ribbon to go on top.
A top view with the veiling pulled back.
This is just showing the underneath of the coronet and how it looks
The finished coronet with veiling
The three coronets together in different colours. It really is not any more work to make one as three. They are so easy to make
Our Eden and Vellvin in their coronets.

I hope you have enjoyed this post on making coronets and even are inspired to make them for your girls. They even make great gifts for Christmas and birthdays or your own Medieval costume day. Our children have made them as gifts for others too.

If you are interested and don't understand anything please do not hesitate to ask

Blessings,