I am not only a travel blogger. I enjoy making the best of experiences on my travel journeys or keeping track of my travels through photography, video, scrapbooking, and crafts.

With plans on attending a wedding in August in Ireland, I had little time to make a fascinator for the wedding. I priced out some options to see if it was worth buying one already made, but I wanted to try making one myself. After all the Royal Wedding hats, I felt it was necessary to try to make one. I became obsessed with learning millinery. Since I have never been to an Irish wedding, I hoped my design would help me fit right in.

Materials

1. Fascinator Base

With only a month before departing for the wedding, I decided to buy a Round Sinamay Fascinator Hat Base on Etsy. After finding a preferred color and size, I bought two, one teal and one plum from LushLapel.

2. Goose Biot Features

I bought goose biot feathers from LJCraftcreations to add to my hat base to create volume to my hat.

Goose Biot Feathers

3. Crin

I wanted to test all the materials the YouTube video tutorials used. I was very interested in crin because it looked fun to tear apart. It took me awhile to find some Crin since most craft stores do not carry it. I finally found it on Ebay. However, the image of the picture appears to be darker than its true color, so I did not end up using this material, but I did play with the material and do wish that it matched. Fascinator Crin

4. Sinmay fabric

Sinmay fabric is coarse fabric with designs to choose from. I found this also on Ebay. However, I made the mistake of not reading the description in full detail. This item is more of mesh like the crin above. It was also brighter than I had in mind, so I did not end up using the material even though it would be good for a veil.

Sinmay fabric

5. Ribbon, Netting, and Thread

Putting it all together, I headed to Joann Fabric to get some ribbon, netting, and thread. I found the ribbon in the floral section, but there are plenty of options depending on your tastes. I did not end up using the ribbon or the netting for aesthetic reasons but went back to Joann Fabric and found a decorative ribbon for the finish.

6. Hot Glue and Hot Glue Gun

Attempting a design:

I first molded the ribbon into a shape for the hat using pins when I liked a loop. I tried various versions in front of the mirror to see what it would like like. However, I did not end up using the ribbon, but it was a great learning experience. I learned that to make bows the best materials to use are sinamay ribbon or crin. Living in the U.S. can make it difficult to find the necessary materials, especially if under a time crunch. Most places to buy the materials are located in Europe, so plan ahead!

I curled and shaped the feathers on the fascinator. I however found it almost impossible to hand sew them on, so with much dismay I used hot glue by layering the colors and shaping the feathers.

FascinatorWith only the finishing touches left, I used the decorative ribbon to cover the nice hot glue work and sewed it on tight. I also had to figure out how I wanted it to be in my hair. I originally bought a headband to attach to the fascinator. However, after some thought on my hair styling, I decided to go with a clip. I took out the wire from the ribbon, created a loop, and hot glued it on. Fascinator

Tips when starting to learn millinery:

1. Learn the terminology.

2. Learn the fabrics/materials.

3. Think of the best way to wear it before creating.

[Original post published October 2013.]

Have you ever made something for your travels? Share it in the comments below.

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