The first time I ever wore a flower crown was at my wedding. I looked up the DIY tutorial online, thought it looked too complicated, then asked one of my crafty bridesmaids to make me one just a couple of hours before the wedding. I loved wearing it, feeling like a mixture between a Woodland and Bohemian Princess. Being inspired by my friend, I’ve made a couple of flower crowns myself. I wore them for holidays or seasonal changes, because, sadly, a grown woman wearing a flower crown on a random day becomes a bit odd after a while.
Since spring is here, and summer not too far off, I think it’s high time to start flower crowning again. Besides donning a flower crown as a bride, flower crowns make lovely hair accessories as they are so versatile: They can be simple and understated (garland, small daisies, little blossoms, etc.), or large and noticeable (leaves, sunflowers, large roses, etc.). Wear them at a picnic, a walk around town, an outdoor concert, or for holidays (think holly for Christmas, pink roses for Valentine’s). Get reading darlings, so you can learn how to make your own flower crown, and we can all become properly attired badass Woodland Nymphs.
Supplies
- Some good craft scissors
- Floral tape (which you can get at any craft store)
- Floral wire (craft store, once again)
- Flowers and leaves of your choice (I use real flowers, but you can use fake)
Step One
Cut off a good, long piece of floral wire and bend it so it’s circular. Put it atop your head to measure it, and adjust the size as needed. If you want the flower crown to hang further down, then it needs to be bigger, but if you want it resting more atop of your head, then it needs to be smaller. If you are using really heavy flowers, you can double up the wire. Once you have the size you want, cut off unwanted wire, and either floral tape it shut, or twist the two ends together. As seen in the picture above, I decided to place my flower crown rather low on my head.
Tip: If it is your first time using floral tape, cut 6-8 inches worth of tape, and simply wrap it around the wire a whole bunch of times. It works, even though it doesn’t feel sticky. When you are done wrapping, you can give the tape a hard pinch to make it extra secure.
Step Two
Establish your ‘base’ and begin taping—remember to give a hard pinch to the tape when done wrapping! Make sure that you tape the whole stem, overlapping a few times. I wanted my crown to be completely filled with baby’s breath, and then use sunflowers as the ornamental pieces. You may want yours to have leaves going all the way around, or maybe something else. Whatever it is, start cutting, so that you have 1-2 inches of stem to tape onto the wire. It may be a good idea to start at the back, and work your way around the whole crown.
Tip: There is only one exception to this: if you are using heavy flowers, like sunflowers or hydrangeas, you will want to add them at the same time as your base.
Make sure you leave enough space in between each greenery or flower to allow room for the more ornamental flowers. When leaving space for the additional flowers, think about how it will look when you are wearing it. If you want it a more thick/bushy look, then overlap the stems a little bit. To make it go faster, I’ve found that pre-cutting 4-5 pieces of floral tape makes for a smooth ride.
Step Three
Now it is time to add those other flowers! You can either add most of the flowers to the front, the back, or wherever you want the focus to be, or else just have them randomly dispersed throughout the whole crown. Make sure the stem is about 3 inches long, and enough tape to wrap around the whole stem and to overlap.
Step Four
You should be just about done with your flower crown, and it took me about an hour to do it. Take a look at it to see if you can add a few random small leaves or flowers to fill in any space, or to trim any tape. After that, it is crowning time!
I liked my crown, but I didn’t love it. I don’t think I’ll be using sunflowers again, as they were pretty droopy after an hour or so. I prefer the more simple leaves and baby’s breath look, so that is what I’ll be doing next time.
Now let’s all go frolic in the woods and meadows together!