How to make a fascinator
Show off your craft skills on your big day with Ann-Marie Faulkner's DIY fascinator!
Published:
Move over tiaras and flower crowns – this lace fascinator, by Most Curious Wedding Fair’s star milliner Ann-Marie Faulkner, is our choice for statement spring headwear. Fashion’s palest shade is enjoying a moment right now. We’re spotting it everywhere, from manicures to handbags and, of course, in its natural environment – weddings. This fascinator, made by milliner Ann-Marie Faulkner in conjunction with Most Curious Wedding Fair, is ideal for styling romantic, vintage-inspired weddings. If you enjoy making this DIY fascinator then make sure you also check out our DIY wedding seating plan, Homemade wedding cards and DIY wedding favour ideas.
If you’ve no plans to get hitched, you could still carry this one off at your next super-swank do – just pick some different coloured lace, or dye it yourself and embellish how you want. Now it’s over to Ann-Marie for her DIY fascinator…
You will need
- Lace
- Matching thread
- Small bugle beads
- Long bugle beads
- Seed beads (use your spare seed beads to make our seed bead bracelet, seed bead necklace and seed bead earrings)
- Water-based fabric stiffener
- Paintbrush
- Fabric alice band (you could also make your own using our how to make head bands)
- Small embroidery scissors
How to make a fascinator
You Will Need
- Lace
- Matching thread
- Bugle beads
- seed beads
- Water-based fabric stiffener
- Paintbrush
- Fabric alice band
- Small embroidery scissors
Step 1
Pick out your lace. We used guipure lace because of its bold pattern, but you could also use corded lace – just make sure it’s heavy enough to cut out and hold its shape.
Step 2
Cut out your chosen part or parts of the lace pattern using small embroidery scissors. You can choose the size and shape you wish.
Step 3
Mix up your fabric stiffener according to the pack instructions.
Step 4
Lay your cut-out lace on a piece of plastic or paper and, using your paintbrush, generously apply the stiffener to the lace.
Step 5
Leave the stiffener to dry as per the pack instructions.
Step 6
Once dry, give the lace a quick iron on the reverse to further stiffen the fabric
Step 7
Arrange the lace on the alice band. Hold in place using pins and remember to check how it looks on yourself in the mirror. Keep adjusting the lace pieces until you’re happy with the arrangement, then pin.
Step 8
Once you’re happy, sew into place using matching thread, making sure to keep your stitches really small and almost invisible.
Step 9
Now let’s add some beading. Scatter a few small bugle beads over some of the lace, highlighting elements as you wish, and stitch into place.
Step 10
As our motif is floral, we decided to add some beaded stamens – to do this, secure your thread in the centre of a flower then sew through the middle of a long bugle bead.
Step 11
Take a seed bead and sew through the centre. Now go back down through the centre of the long bugle bead and back through your fabric. Make sure your thread is pulled all the way through securely. The seed bead will hold your thread in place as well as holding your bugle bead up vertically.
Step 12
Repeat all over your lace, or in selected areas, until you have a finish you’re happy with.
Step 13
Carefully check your piece over for any loose threads or untidy pieces of lace and trim anything that needs neatening up. Wrap your beautifully crafted headpiece in tissue paper to protect it until you need it.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to make a fascinator! For more wedding crafts head over to our DIY wedding craft ideas, wedding cross stitch kits and our DIY wedding table decorations.
Authors
Phoebe has worked for Gathered, and our sister magazine Mollie Makes, for 3 years. She manages our Arts & Crafts section and specialises in social media and content strategy. She has a background in all things marketing, a flair for Pinterest and a knack for finding the next big craft trend. Previously she worked as Digital Campaign Executive for Fat Media. You may recognise her name from Mollie Makes Social Media magazine, where she shared her expertise and top tips on becoming social media savvy.
