Party Hats: Stars in your Crown

Wanda came in with the cutest birthday crown this week. Her grandson was turning one and her daughter requested it. It was button cute. She'd even found a plane fabric for the front. You know that birthday crown is going to be part of every kid's birthday until it's an active embarrassment. It wouldn't surprise me if it got used at family events (birthday breakfast) well after that. 

 She sensibly used a button and loop closure that means it can be worn later when the birthday boy is larger. Wanda didn't make just a birthday crown. She made a birthday tradition. It may last until the kid can vote. Surely until he can ride a bike.

It made me think about the kind of family tradition that gets built up by the things sewers are willing to make for someone's special day. If you've done it for one kid, you must do it for them all. And because it's fabric, it has a chance of lasting through one party day into another years later. A trip through the wash can handle all but the very worst spill messes. Although, I do recommend printed fabric the color of cake and Pepsi.

felt party hats

So I went looking for some of the fabulous home made party hats and banners that are out there. 

Soft Baby Crown by Charlebebe

I rapidly landed in the cute zone. But cute is mostly what kids like. Here were some of the great birthday hats out there.

What Birthday is this? from the Mustard Seed Family

A herd of Dinosaurs found on Flickr

Monster Hats on Gabba Friends

Some of these are paper, but the translation to fabric is simply a matter of stabilizer. Use a stiff enough stabilizer and your fabric acts like paper.

Want to know how? Come in and talk to Wanda. She'll walk you through it.

The unstated glory of all of this is what every sewer's kid knows. They know either Grand mom or Mommy can make it. And because she loves me, she will. It leads to some late nights in craft land. And to family traditions that last forever.