Tabistry Tribal Headdress with Hairfalls

Have a couple new projects to share.  First, I started a new, more elaborate, tabistry headdress for my tribal outfit.



The headdress is made in three tabistry parts.  The main wide top part joined to the 2nd narrow strip of tabs that keeps it standing up.  Then, lastly is the one across the forehead.  This last one keeps the headdress from falling back, and a black tie in back keep it from falling forward.  It stays on really well.



Didn't actually need to buy any supplies for this project.  I used leftover fabric strips to weave the tabs with.  Also used yarn scraps and random beads from my broken jewelry stash.  I tried a variety of techniques for wrapping and braiding the yarn.  Most were just added to the fabric strip ends that I left hanging from the tabs.  I did add two of my pistachio hairfalls and a couple artificial flowers that are just hair pinned on to the tabs so that they can be changed out easily.  Also added a large silver flower brooch to the top center.



I want to add some more dangles.  Maybe put some more hairfalls in the back.  Not sure if they should be a completely separate piece, or attached to the headdress.



This was a fun project that didn't take too long and not many tabs.  And, I even found a use for my older headband!  :)



You may remember my old tribal headband I created over five years back.  Since making this one, I added the old one to my belt.  (It's the top band across the top and the round pieces on the sides.)

Up next I plan to share a vest/bodice I made for a close friend.  Then, hopefully I will have made some headway on the top hat tutorial.

My New Pirate Hat

Hmmm...Now, where did I bury that treasure? :)



For Scarborough Ren Faire's Pirate Weekend, I wanted to whip up a new pirate hat. All this time has gone by, and I hadn't made myself one, yet. Finally, I got it somewhat wearable just minutes before we headed out.



Though, I didn't have the trim finished til just yesterday. Now, I need some feathers and other decorations to top it off. Can't decided what color the feathers should be. I'm thinking red to go with my corset. The flat cap that I originally made to go with the corset just wasn't doing anything for me. :)



I made this hat slightly shallower than my mom's hat that I posted about here. The weight keeps it firmly in place even on a significantly breezy day. I also decided to pin up the back on this one, as well. I tried painting some of the tabs black at the tip to reduce the amount of shiny silver showing. I also used some metallic gold shoelaces for the trim.



If you'd like to attempt your own tabistry pirate hat, I provide the pattern for my mom's hat with instructions for constructing hats (including taking measurements) in my POP TOP tutorial with 4 patterns available on Etsy.com. A tricorne is basically a wide brimmed sun hat that is pinned up to form three sides.

BTW, this month seems to be brimming with hats. I'll be posting some made-over felt hats and a paper mache one on my general crafting blog (mieljolie.blogspot.com) very soon. The SO has also just finished a red leather top hat. Feel free to come check those out when I get them posted.

Pop Tab Hair Falls

Got inspired the other day to finish a pop tab hair fall, that I started probably a year ago. I tried a few different ways to string the tabs. Most are bent in some way.



So far, they are still cumbersome to weave. Though, this could be due to my yarn choice, too. I'm still experimenting with it.



I'm working on another fall in yet another variation that is a little easier. It's just about completed. Just need to add some decor to spruce it up. I took some WIP pics of it, so a future tutorial may be available in my Etsy store soon. I'll post it when it's finished. In the meantime, my daughter and I also made some hair falls using pistachio shells.



We had dyed some with our left over Easter egg dye. It was a fun project. You can read more about that on my general craft blog, mieljolie.blogspot.com.

In other news, I'm still pounding away on the other tabistry tutorials. I just can't get the pics right to show what I'd like. It doesn't help that I have to practically create a new piece to get them. :) But, I will have something. Sorry it's taking so long. For me, it's much easier to create things than tell how it's done. Thanks for all your patience.

Mardi Gra Steampunk Style - Hat and Mask

Had a costume party to attend this past Friday, so we worked on a few new steampunk items and changed up a few older ones. I was pretty stumped on what to wear to a Mardi Gras party that was Steampunk themed. So, of course I went Tribal Fusion-style as a base and added a mask and hat. ;)



I whipped up a quick mask. It kinda resembles an owl with the wispy ostrich feathers on the sides. I must thank Heather for supplying me with some of the gold-toned tabs. See, they did come in useful after all. :)



I also added a new brown feather and silver painted clip light to my hat. I wore hair flowers with some yarn falls in the back. The light came in quite useful, too. It was dark out when we got there making it somewhat difficult to put on last minute accessories beside the car.



Had a blast at the party! I'll be posting our other accessories on the craft blog (mieljolie.blogspot.com).

Just something to show I'm thinking of you

I honestly don't care much for Valentine's Day. It's never rated very high on my list of favorite holidays. However, I'd like to share a little something, so you won't think I've abandoned my blog. I created this with my daughter out of some leftover scraps from other projects and a bamboo chopstick. I need to work a little on the flights of the chopstick arrow. I wanted to try making them out of bottlecaps. And the shaping on the top is just not quite there, yet. But, whatcha think? Does it sorta resemble a heart?

No time lately to work on any new large elaborate tabistry projects. I'm still working on tutorials and revamping my steampunk underbust corset. I'll post when I have something. Thanks for the patience.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Another crazy October has passed...

...and I finally finished a tabistry project! Yay!

Meet the new corset addition. I finally finished an underbust corset and matching mini top hat just in time for Halloween. The corset still needs some minor adjustments around the front top edge. I was strapped for time and just had to go with it. I'm debating to remove or add some tabs where the lacing is. The gap where the lace holes begins is not suitable to me. I also plan to add a trim around the whole corset to finish it off better. That ought to help out a bit.



The hat was actually created on the 4+ hour drive on the way to faire. I was working on the brim the next morning as the others were still getting dressed. :) I want to play with the style of it a little bit more. Then, I will most likely adding it to the POP TOP hat tutorial available on Etsy.com



Remember back when I mentioned I'd share a new technique on giving tabs some color. Well, this was the project I'd been meaning to discuss it on. If you look closely at the pic below, you'll see that I wove the tabs upside down and that I hand painted each one with fingernail polish. I made a graduating pattern from gold to burgundy to dark purple to black and back down to gold. I think the paint really tones down the shiny silver tabs.



Since this was to be a steampunk piece, I wanted something a little different. As you might, or might not, have noticed, I tried something new on the seams. I wove them together using more tabs running across the seam. When it is pulled apart the tabs kinda peak through.



You can read about the whole steampunk outfit on my craft blog here. Ciao, until next time!!

Tabistry Tribal Headband

I finally made time to finish a tribal-inspired headband! I've just adore the headbands tribal fusion dancers wear with the large round medallions on the sides. I was thinking one would be perfect to help hide my hair and make a better transition to my bun when wearing hair falls. Plus, I can hang all kinds of dangly bits from it! So, here it is with my black turkish vest outfit at Scarborough Renaissance Festival this past weekend. That's my "mundane" daughter with me above.



Finally got to wear my new tabistry armband and horseshoe nail necklace, too. The "tika" on my forehead is also new (to me). Made it from an anklet I picked up at the flea market. Only wish I had poofed up my bangs a bit in the front or pulled a section over to one side. I think it looks a wee too tightly pulled back.


Here another view of the armband while I was putting the last minute accessories on at the car. We had a great time at Scarby this year. Great company and couldn't ask for better weather.

I'll be putting a quick tutorial up at my crafting blog on how I made some really simple artificial hair flowers that I'm wearing with my garb with just buttons and hair pins. No messy hot glue.

As usual, have a can-TAB-ulous time!

Hair Accessories for Halloween

While making my first purse posted just before this, I came up with this idea to make hair holders purely by accident. So, I've decided to try to make some to put in my Etsy.com store. I have experimented with two different styles. The "infinity" style with streaming ends shown here:




The ends aren't really finished, yet. I'm debating to add beads and other things to the ends.

And, the plain flat one here:




I may also lengthen the idea into tie-on headbands, as well. Since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, they're woven with black and orange t-shirt fabric. I may add some charms or ribbon to the the bottom edge.

They are secured in the hair with a chopstick. Now that I think about it, if I had used "plarn" (plastic bag yarn) these could easily be made out of discarded chinese take-out trash. Now, what would I use the pesky styrofoam or cardboard boxes for? Hmmm... Guess I could store my hair accessories in them. :)

Thanks for stopping by. Until next post, have a CAN-tastic time!

Autumn is Just Around the Corner!

Pics are here as promised! Hope you like the new retro additions. While working on the hat tutorial I wanted to make a different style than the sun hats. And, after this hat was nearly finished it "told" me it needed a purse to go with it. (And, I really wanted to use up all the scrap from the hat) :) I'm really not one who uses a purse these days. I have a tendency to lay them down in unusual places. Oopsy. But, I've had a lot of folks asking if I'm going to make any purses, so I thought I'd better get one done. It probably isn't a very practical size for most, but I think it's adorable, anyway.



Both the hat and the purse are made from three t-shirts (black, blue and white) that I happened to have around because I keep EVERYTHING. They took most of all the shirts to make except a few small scraps. Because of the indecisive person I am, I made two styles of straps for the purse. The one pictured above is a wide strap to wear over the shoulder and the other is the two smaller handles shown below. They hook in with lanyard hooks. The purse has a bottlecap button on both sides that fasten to the removable closure. And, the hat has a matching bottlecap flower embellishment.





I lined the purse with some extra blue t-shirt I had left. And, I also added a small pocket inside.



Though you can't tell in the pics, I was very please at how my make-up turned out. I've been playing around with different looks and was trying for something a little retro 20's vampish or something. The pic below is the best angle I have due to the hat brim covering my eyes. It was very odd, not to mention sticky, wearing a turtleneck sweater, wool skirt and full length wool coat in 80+ degree muggy Texas heat. Wonder what the neighbors were thinking. :) I wanted to give the images a good fall/winter feeling. Just ignore the greenery, if you will. ;)



Thanks for lookin'.

POP TOP Tute and Patterns on Etsy

Finally put the POP TOP Tutorial/Patterns up at my Etsy store, which reminds me that I want to say a big THANKS, again to everyone who has purchased the "Tabistry Basics". I'm so happy it has been received so well.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30706194

It's been a long time editing these tutorials, but I finally had to stop making excuses and get the hat tutorial up. I'm a bit fussy and can't quit tweaking every little thing. While writing it, I put together a new "bucket" style hat that I will get action pics of as soon as I get it and a matching purse finished. Hope to have the pics taken this weekend. **crosses fingers, knocks on wood, does little dance, etc...**

For now, you'll just have to be content with this one from the tute:



Sorry, but it started growing out of my lightbox. I still haven't got the lighting just right, but the images of the construction are much better than my previous attempts.

In other news, I was also inspired to make a couple designs for some hair accessories that I may sell on Etsy, as well. With the way things are going at present, they probably won't be ready until after October, though. We shall see. I've got my garb to get ready for TRF! Speaking of faire (and I do quite often), we'll be at Middlefaire opening weekend on September 19th for their bellydance themed weekend. I think you'll be able to guess what I'm wearing. :)

So many things to make and so little time! Better get back to my tabs.

Red Sun Hat

Finally got around to shooting some pics of this red sun hat I made awhile back for someone. It's really bright red, but she's in the Red Hat Society!





It's my first attempt at a floppy brim. If there's a next time, I think I will try adding some wired ribbon to the brim edge to help shape it better.


This one is made with larger can tabs and is deliberately a larger size hat. I used the ribbon with can tabs sewn to it to cinch it in like a "D" ring belt. You can kinda see the buckle in this pic along with a removable bottlecap flower:






Hope you like it. Thanks for looking!

Pirate/Cavalier Hat

This hat has evolved a lot since I started it. Originally we wanted a tricorn hat. I used black shoelaces with skull/crossbone print, hence the spotty-look.

Sun hat-style before I pinned up the sides:





Hat at the present moment with Dr. Pepper can flower pinned to side and ostrich feathers:



Here's mom modeling her hat.

Mom's Bodice for Faire

NEW PIC from TRF!!



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At this point, I'm experimenting with more challenging projects. I found a local short-lived suppler of tabs and WAS rolling in them for awhile. Muhahaha! So, I started mom's bodice/corset. We wanted inexpensive, not so h/a outfits for the Scarby 2008 renaissance faire here in Texas.

A close up of the hat after a few changes.

Here is a pic of the last fitting showing the straps.

I still plan to add some extra paintstick boning to straighten out the front. But, overall she was very pleased and comfortable at the faire.

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Here is the post about TRF: http://mieljolie.blogspot.com/2008/10/pics-at-trf.html

Post for the shoes: http://mieljolie.blogspot.com/2008/07/mom-needs-new-pair-of-shoes.html

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Breakdown of costs:

Can Tabs = FREE
Jewels with rims on Hat = $2 ($1 per pack of 6 jewels at hobby storeclearance)
Gold shoelace on Hat= 30 cents a pair (eBay lot)
Lt. Green Leather Cord Lacing = $8 ($4 a cord at hobby store)
Yarn trim on Hat and Bodice = $2.50 (on clearance)
Nylon cord braided into yarn = 50 cents (clearance)
Dk Green Fleece = $1 ($3/yd.)
Green Scarf on shoulders = ? (I've had it forever)
White sheer shirt = ? (Mom's closet)
Dk Green Overskirt = $1 (Thrift store fabric)
Lt Green Slip Dress = $10 (Marshalls clearance)
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Total = $25