How-To: Create Feather and Brocade Headpieces

Craft & Design

CRAFT: DIY Wedding
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Last weekend I had the pleasure of celebrating my friend Leandra’s “Hen Night”. Her loved ones scheduled a fun night out in San Francisco that included cocktails at Burbon and Branch, dinner at Asia SF, and dancing at Bootie. It was a great time, and for my contribution, I created 15 feather and brocade fascinators for each beautiful guest. It was quite the crafting extravaganza, but once I started making them, I couldn’t stop.
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Because I didn’t know what anyone would be wearing, I worked in an entire rainbow of colors. I used bulk craft feathers and remnants of brocade from my local fabric shop, a cardboard box, and simple headbands from the drugstore. And when I brought them to the party, the most amazing thing happened- each girl found a piece to exactly compliment their outfits! The headpieces, while unique, totally unified us. We stepped out as a glamorous tribe of stunners.


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Materials:
Cardboard
Brocade scraps
Tulle
Feathers
Silk flowers
Butterflies
Hot glue
Headbands and blank barrettes

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Step 1: Cut a piece of cardboard in a teardrop shape, about 4″ long. Make sure the barrette hardware will fit on the back.
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Step 2: Cut a piece of brocade in the same shape, but make it slightly bigger than the cardboard. Make it large enough to easily cover the sides when wrapped over the teardrop.
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Step 3: Cover the teardrop with the brocade using the hot glue, or any other fabric adhesive you prefer.
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Step 4: Trim your feathers into new lengths, or even new shapes. I took the fluffy parts off of the pale feathers to create a short fan.
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Step 5: Working sparingly, glue the feathers to the brocade in layers. Start the first layer closest to the rounded edge, and overlap new layers towards the point. I added the 2 layers of fans, then two fluffy pink feathers at the point. Then I tucked three dark and dramatic pieces in to add drama.
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Step 6: Once the feathers have set and dried, flip the piece over and attach the hardware with a liberal amount of glue. Voila!

6 thoughts on “How-To: Create Feather and Brocade Headpieces

  1. Katie Wilson says:

    I want to see the ladies! B, this is such a great DIY.

  2. Laura Cochrane says:

    I was just thinking the same thing! I love the red, yellow, and orange one with the butterfly.

  3. Arwen O'Reilly Griffith says:

    Yes, group photo please! This is a hen’s night I’d actually want to go to!

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