Wooly Crown

Here is a simple project, great for birthday parties, dress-up, carnivals, or just a fun Sunday morning.

Materials

• Wire
• Wool (fairly thin) – you could also use any other fibre, even paper.
• Beads
• 2 bobby pins or hair pins
• Needle and sewing thread

Method

Depending on the thickness of the wire, you may need to use one piece of wire or more, bunched together. The idea is that the final piece of wire needs to be strong enough to hold its shape. For the type of wire pictured, I used 4 pieces, twisted together.

After you cut the wire to the desired length (you can choose to make a bigger or a smaller crown), you start covering it with the fibre of your choice, in this case with the wool. Start from one end of the wire and simply wrap the wool around it until you get to the other end.

It takes a bit of time to do it right, without leaving too many gaps, but it’s an easy and fun process. Make sure to cover the ends too, so they won’t hurt the skin. After the entire length of the wire has been covered, bend the ends as shown in the picture. You can also sew them in place.

Starting from the middle and going in both directions, start modelling the wire in a symmetrical pattern.

You can use it as it is or you can choose to stitch on some beads, to give it a bit of sparkle. Fix the crown on the head using hairpins or bobby pins. Done!

Tip: This type of covered wire can be made into so many shapes. You can try making decorations (such as flowers, butterflies, small animals), coasters, jewellery and so on.

Text and photos by Laura Munteanu

Laura studied journalism and advertising, and has worked as a journalist and an illustrator. She has illustrated for magazines, websites, charity and diverse campaigns. She lives in Zurich with her husband and seven-year-old daughter.