https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/cat-fascinator • Posted by Cat Morley
For this week's Crafter To The Stars I'm making a sequinned cat fascinator for model, designer and style icon Audrey Kitching. You can find out what Audrey thought about it and read an interview with her on my blog.
Audrey loves cats so I knew she'd be able to pull off the feline look perfectly and I was so excited to see the finished look. The black sequins add sparkle to the fascinator while the touches of pink match Audrey's hair perfectly. The ears are wired on the inside, so they can be bent in different directions and the veiling can be worn up or down, letting you mix up the look. Ready to make one for yourself? Here's the how-to:
We're going to start by covering our fascinator base with the black sequin trim.
Glue an outer ring of sequins around the fascinator.
Secure this row of sequins in place with a needle and thread. We're not going to stitch every single sequin in place ongoing but it's good to get your first row sewn in to place.
Glue down your second row of sequins by glueing small segments at a time and working your way around the row.
Keep going...
Keep going until you reach the middle of the fascinator.
Stitch the final sequin in place with a needle and thread. Snip off the remaining trim. Continue stitching sequins in place all over the fascinator to make sure that the trim is secure. You don't need to be too thorough - just make sure you get an even selection around the base.
Cut a triangle template out of paper, in the size you'd like your ears to be.
Cut around this on to thick fabric, like canvas, leaving 1cm of fabric around the edges.
Use the template to bend a piece of wire in to the exact shape you'd like the ears to be.
Lay the wire in the center of your fabric and cut a notch out of the top of the triangle.
Fold the edges of the fabric over the wire...
and stitch in place.
Starting at the bottom edge, stitch a row of pink sequins in place using a needle and pink thread, leave a gap (measuring roughly two sequins wide) at either side. Continue stitching more rows, decreasing by one sequin or so with every row.
Keep going until you reach the top.
Now stitch a row of black sequins on the outer edge of the ear. When you reach the top, fold it down the other side and then sew a second row back the way you came.
It should look like this when you're finished.
Flip the ear over and continue the same technique to stitch rows of black sequins to the back of the ear.
When you get to the end, leave a long tail of sequins.
Now fold and glue the sequin trim around the edges of the ear, stitching in place.
You're finished ear should look like this.
Repeat with the other ear.
Decide where you'd like the ears to go and stitch in place with black thread.
Cut a paper heart template that will look cute as a nose.
Stitch pink sequins in the heart pattern to make the nose.
Thread a needle with silver wire.
Pull the needle through the fascinator behind the nose. Knot the wire behind the fascinator then pull the wire back through the front.
Repeat twice more. Cut your whiskers to the right size and bend to look the way you like.
Cut a small felt circle and glue it to the inside, where the wire pierces through the fascinator.
Cut a generous length of veiling.
Position the veiling underneath the fascinator, so that it falls across your face nicely and then stitch in place. It's a good idea to look in a mirror to get the veiling just right.
Stitch a hair comb on to the bottom of your fascinator and it's ready to wear.
Play with the veiling, bend the ears and position the whiskers in a way you like.