Thursday, June 22, 2017

Pride Headband - DIY Rainbow Tulle Flower


June is Pride month!  I designed some fun twisted rib Celebrate Equality Wristbands, but Lucky claimed these "bracelets" as his own.  I planned to create some kind of fascinator to show my support for the LGBTQ communities.


I picked up some tulle in rainbow colors.  There were many different options to chose from, so I selected the brightest options I could.  I purchased 1/4 yard of each color which would be more than enough for multiple headbands and was only a couple of dollars total.

When I laid the squares out on the table, the gradient they formed was stunning.  I took MANY photos!

My original inspiration was to create some kind of rainbow poof headband.  However, I LOVED the way the tulle stars came out from my patriotic headband, so I wanted to create similar petals for my rainbow pride headband.  (Even if the tulle was a pain to work with!)  The plan for this headband is to make six petals in a ROYGBP colorway.


I cut two 5" squares in each color.  Just like with the tulle patriotic star flowers, I folded the double tulle on the diagonal twice and then created a running stitch through the raw edge.  As I pulled these closed I formed a six petal flower.  


The finished star is about 5" across in either direction.  


The star/flower went together quickly.  The frustrations that I had working with the tulle last time were absent this time.  I think that after I had created a few petals I got the hang of it and it was much easier to complete.


The finished flower is adorable, but it was missing something.  I decided to add a huge rhinestone to the center of the flower to give it some sparkle.


Next, I turned the flower over and glued it onto a plastic headband I purchased from the dollar store.  I got a pack of four headbands for $1!  I made sure to put glue under the headband to help the flower keep its hold on the hair accessory.  


This cute little headband was complete!  Notice how I glued the flower off center. I wanted it to be on the side of my head, not on the top of my head.  I also placed the flower so the purple, blue and green petals would show on the side of my face since these are my favorite colors.


This flower is darling.  It doesn't have the poof exuberance that I initially envisioned, but I am so excited about how this flower turned out.  I have a feeling that I will be making more tulle headbands in my future, and I look forward to wearing this flower proudly for Pride month.


I have some ideas for knit Pride hats, but it is just so hot right now that I can't even think about trying on wool hats with the air conditioning running.  Showing support for Pride is relevant for more than just in June, so these designs will come out of my sketches someday!  For this Pride month, we are sharing our support for our friends, family and community with warm weather friendly wristbands and headbands.  


Lucky is 3.5 years old.  We told him that this year that his "bracelets" mean that we believe in equality for everyone as a family, and that we believe that people should be able to express who they are.  Marriage equality doesn't seem like an issue for debate to Lucky, it is just a fact and is completely normal that people can marry who they love.  Working for acceptance and tolerance starts in the home, and I hope to teach my boys to stand up for their friends.