Started the crown and veil. Got sidetracked by Valentine’s Day and my birthday, but I finally had a half a day free to work on these pieces.
Template for crown
Making the crown, step by step
A while ago, I made a paper template of the crown and cut it out of buckram. Because I didn’t have a long enough piece of buckram in my stash, I had to sew two strips together. This actually made it stronger, so a problem turned into a benefit. I also sewed the center point piece on, having cut it out separately.
Over the buckram frame, I added several layers of papier-maché. For this, I used plain white computer paper dipped in white glue thinned with warm water. I let the papier-maché dry on a styrofoam wig head that I’d covered in tin foil. The wig head helped the crown keep its shape (it got very floppy during the papier-maché process), and the tin foil kept it from sticking.
As that dried, I sewed the veil from three yards of black chiffon. The shape is a long rounded rectangle that I cut freehand. Once again, I learned the power of having the Right Tool — I discovered that my machine does have a rolled-hem foot, even though the manual has no instructions for using it. But I fiddled around and figured it out to use it for the veil’s hem. Turned out pretty good, for a first try.