Indian Summer Party Crowns

So here's an easy (I rank a project's difficulty by how long it took me to finish. I actually finished this one, so I'm ranking it very easy. Apparently all my other projects are extremely difficult, as they are not finished) project to get you started with Indian Summer.

I was thinking of what Indian Summer would be really fun on, and of course, kids stuff. How much fun would a crown be for a kid's party. I was initially inspired by these super simple burlap crowns. Actually, I should say more, click on that link and take a look at that baby party, I think that if I were to make a room full of Indian Summer stuff, I would make one of every think from that party. Teepees! Dream catchers! Crowns! Isn't it all beautiful?

Okay, so the burlap crowns. I decided to develop that a little bit more, into something that might get used over and over and over (and over and over?). I tried a scalloped edge, and a zigzag edge. They were actually both pretty similar as far as ease. The scalloped edge just took a little more fidgeting to make sure the scallops were smooth. I also made one crown with a different color base, and I really love how it turned out. It's a little fancier. The others are really fun too though.

Also, I really should never put up a tutorial after only making the project once, because I always look back and go, uhhm, maybe I should change this and that and this too. But oh well, you get it as is. Here's my changes, though. I would have maybe added a layer of interfacing to these. I've got pretty puffy hair, and the extreme strength of my hair puffs bent over the crown points when I wore mine. But  that's really the only major change I would have made. So if you're making some, maybe try them with and without interfacing, and see what you like best. Okay here we go.

What you need:
A few buttons, one or two per crown, depending on how fancy you are
Sewing machine
Thread
Scissors
Indian Summer fabric

I used:
Three Color Crown:
Base: IS-60014 Native Band Apricot 3x25"
Top: IS-60017 Pebbled Path Terra 2x25"
Inside: IS-60018 Basket of Wheat 3x25"

Scalloped Crown:
Outside: IS-60011 Menagerie Onyx 3x25"
Inside: IS-50014 Native Band Jade 3x25"

Pointy Crown:
Outside: IS-60016 Drops of Clay 3x25"
Inside: IS-60010 Woodland Oak 3x25"

I found the best way to make these crowns is to measure the head you're putting it on and add two or three inches on to that. The measurements I gave you are for my head size (my head is so big, because it is full of brains, of course).

Place fabric pieces printed side in. Starting at one end, stitch along the long bottom edge, using a .25" seam allowance. Stitch all the way across, and up 1" on the end. Turn in and sew 2". Starting 2" in, sew a zig zag. Freeform looks great here, so don't worry about being too cautious. I just turned at a 90 degree, sewed until I was near the top, and turned again at a 90 degree angle. Continue in this pattern until the end. It's okay if you don't end the crown point perfectly.

Leave the end open. Trim out triangles and snip the armpits so that it'll turn out correctly. Follow the same instructions for the scalloped edge, except don't make points, make curves. Even a swirly rolling curve would look nice, it doesn't have to be a scallop.

*For the crown with the base, instead of sewing the two pieces face to face, first sew them to the bottom band. Then, fold that in half and do the same thing, zig zags or scallops, whichever you choose.

Then turn everything right side out, iron, and then I top stitched, as well as stitched up the open end. I used a pencil (eraser end) to push everything out. The top stitching, it's not totally necessary, I just think it looked nice. Added a little structure too (of course, if you used interfacing, maybe you wouldn't need it).

Sew buttonholes. Put them on one side of the crown. Stitch the button on the other side. I added three buttonholes, because if my hair is up, hair is down, head is feeling skinny, my head changes size. And if you're making them as party favors or something, where you're not sure of the head sizes, it's nice to have adjustable crowns. I normally just wing my buttonholes (sometimes I even just cut a hole, how irresponsible), but if you'd like some guidance, a good buttonhole tutorial is HERE and Purlbee and HERE at Sew Mama Sew.

Tadah, you have crowns. Wear them at a party. Wear them at dinner. Wear them when you go out to get the mail.