What is May Day without a Flower Crown?
As I mentioned in my post about May Day, I never celebrated May Day until I became part of the Waldorf Community. But I do know that we made flower crowns in my parent-child class that I took with Gabi. I think they might have been made out of tissue paper and something else–I don’t remember the details. Since then, at least when I was teaching parent-child classes, we always made some kind of flower crowns. So here is an easy one for you to make. I’m even including a pattern if you want one. The one I made is sewn, but you could also make it out of paper. All I can tell you is–it’s fun to wear a flower crown, whether you wear right side up—-or upside down!
Materials for making a fabric flower crown
I made this flower crown out of wool felt. Some of it is felt that I purchased. The pink flower is from a re-purposed sweater that I felted. This is really easy to do. Here is a link to some instructions for felting wool sweaters in the washing machine.
Use what you have on hand
But I like to use any materials I have on hand–and do if I want to make something now. After all these years of crafting and Waldorf teaching, I have a pretty good stash of stuff, but I don’t always have what I want. Sometimes I buy something. In my opinion, it’s fun to buy wool felt. It feels good and is sturdy–and it’s kind of expensive, but really, you don’t use much for most projects. But if you don’t have it, don’t let that stop you. Find something that will work.
You can use just about any kind of fabric
You could use any kind of woven cloth that you have on hand–something stiff enough to hold its shape without flopping too much–something like denim jeans weight is good. The only problem with other fabric is that it can fray. If you don’t care, then go for it. You could also put a little glue around the edges to keep it from fraying–add some glitter while you’re at it!– or buy some fray check, which is, as the name says, something that keeps fabric from fraying.
How to make it stay on
To tie it on, you could use ribbon or yarn or string or elastic. You could just sew it into a circle if it’s the right size. I like something that ties because it fits more children or one child for a longer time–and I’m not very good with elastic, although I don’t know why.
Other materials
You’ll also need some thread. I used embroidery floss-cheap and decorative. I divide it in half
so it’s not so thick, but you can use it just as it is if you prefer. You can also use regular sewing thread. Or if you don’t want to sew, buy some fabric glue or use a hot glue gun and glue away.
The only other things you’ll need are a needle–a sharp one with an eye big enough to put the thread through–and a pair of scissors.
Optional things you might like to add–buttons or beads
(be careful with these if your child still puts things in his mouth), glitter or glitter paint, sequins, anything else you have around and think would look good. And as long as you can figure out a way to attach it to the crown.
Making Your Flower Crown out of Paper
If you want to, you could also make the crown out of paper. Any kind of paper will do, as long as it’s somewhat sturdy. You could use construction paper, or drawing paper that you and/or your child colored, or watercolor paper would be great–especially if you and your child paint it first.
To put it together, use glue or tape–or you can sew paper, too if you feel adventurous.
You could also use staples–just make sure the poky side is facing out. Try covering the staples on the inside with a little bit of tape if you think they might be rubbing on your child’s head.
You could add ribbons, yarn, or string to tie it if you want–you might want to reinforce where they are attached to the paper with an extra layer of paper and/or tape. Or you could tape/glue/staple it into a ring.
Instructions
Well, I’ve pretty much included most of the instructions above. You need to cut a strip of fabric or paper for the actual crown. Cut out leaves and flowers, as desired. You can pin them to the crown if you want, or just wing it. Sew them on (I’ll add a basic sewing tutorial soon!) or attach in other ways as suggested above. I used a running stitch and blanket stitch for mine. Attach the ribbons or ties using your preferred method–or close crown into a ring.
Here is a pattern you can use if you want. Try the crown out and adjust as needed. This one fits halfway around my head and I have a pretty big head and a lot of hair, too.
That’s it–wear and enjoy. Make one for your child and one for yourself, too! Happy May Day.
More for May Day:
Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo