DIY Felt Birthday Crown

by Jill Bentham

Felt birthday crowns are trending everywhere right now! Jill here from @the.felted.fawn, and if you love felt, you know that these bespoke additions to birthday attire are all the rage for toddlers and youngsters alike. Whether you've got a crocodile-loving 3-year-old or a live-in princess, you can customize your child's crown to suit whatever they fancy. What's more? You can even make one yourself with my latest DIY tutorial.

The world is your oyster when it comes to colors and designs, but if you'd like to follow my exact tutorial, I've gone ahead and laid out everything you will need below.

You will need the following materials and supplies:

Downloadable PDF Pattern:

DIY Felt Birthday Crown

Once you have gathered all of your supplies, you will need to decide what kind of font you would like for the numbers on your crown. You may choose a font from your computer's pre-installed available fonts or you can try dafont.com. This website has a large range of fonts available for download, but it is important to ensure you are only using fonts that are listed as “Free for Personal Use”. This will be indicated on the right-hand side of your screen. If you plan on selling any of your finished pieces, using fonts from dafont.com, you must purchase a commercial license for the font you have chosen. The font I chose to use for this project is called 'Discoteca Rounded'.

What's especially fun about this crown is that you can use it for as many years as you like (or as your child is willing to wear it). Just cut extra circle pieces and numbers if you want to make it for more than three years' worth of birthdays.

Let's dive in to the template and instructions! Please note that, for this particular project, pieces need to be cut to exact measurements (or close to them) in order to fit most head sizes. The craft ribbon will allow you to adjust the sizing to some degree.

Instructions

  1. I am using a Cricut Maker to cut out my felt pieces, but you could also print the template and attach it to your felt pieces, tracing with your disappearing ink tool and cutting using your fabric scissors. If you are using the latter method to cut your felt, be sure to attach your templates to your felt using pins to avoid slippage while you are tracing and cutting.

    Once all of your pieces are cut using the method of your choosing, it's time to start sewing your birthday crown together

Note: you can find simple tutorials on YouTube for all of the stitches mentioned in this tutorial.

  1. Starting with your numbers, sew two pieces of a circle together using a blanket stitch. You can also choose to attach your numbers here with an appliqué whip stitch, but I like to glue them on after sewing my circles using some fabric glue. It's totally up to you which look you prefer!
  1. If you choose to glue on your letters, do so after your circles are fully sewn, using some Aleene's Fabric Fusion glue. Be careful not to over-saturate the numbers as you don't want any extra glue coming out the sides.
  1. Once your numbers are dry, attach a small piece of velcro (I used the 'hook' side) to the back of your circles, using hot glue to secure. In the very centre of your Vanilla crown piece, do the same using the corresponding 'loop' side of your velcro. You may wish to use a ruler to measure out exactly where your numbered circles will be placed once they are velcroed to the crown.

Note: you may find it useful to do a “dry lay” of all your felt pieces before sewing anything in order to have a better visual of where everything will be placed.

  1. Now that your numbered circles are complete, you can move on to adding the decorative elements of your birthday crown. Starting with the banner below the numbered circles, add the small triangular pieces in alternating colours, using a simple appliqué whip stitch.
  1. Next, it's time to add the balloons! Because these balloons are overlapping, you will need to ensure you add the correct balloon first. This is the heart-shaped balloon in Apricot. Using an appliqué whip stitch and some peach-coloured thread, attach your heart-shaped piece to the right side of your crown, leaving room for the other two balloons beside it to the left. To achieve the same look as I created on my birthday crown, you will want to tilt the balloon slightly to the right.
  1. Repeat step 6 with your Sky Blue balloon, having it slightly overlap the heart balloon. In the case of the blue balloon, apply it straight rather than tilted. Be sure to use a light blue thread for this balloon.
  1. Finally, repeat step 6 for your star-shaped balloon in Antique Gold, having it slightly overlap the Sky Blue balloon. Tilt this balloon slightly to the left. Using some white thread, add a few simple straight stitches to the top right-hand corner of the balloon to create the illusion of “shine”
  1. Grab some grey thread and add some wavy back-stitches to create “strings” for the balloon bundle.
  1. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for the other side of your birthday crown. I like symmetry so I did everything in reverse so that the pattern is a mirror image of the one on the other side. If you like this look, you will need to apply your pieces in the same fashion.
  1. Once all of your appliqué pieces have been attached, you're ready to sew your birthday crown together! Attaching your unused Vanilla crown piece to the back of the embellished one, start sewing together using a blanket stitch. You can start wherever you want on the crown, but I like to start in the bottom right-hand corner.
  1. Once you've made a few blanket stitches in the bottom corner, cut a piece of craft ribbon (I made mine about 11 inches long because I like a big bow!) and insert it between your two crown pieces as shown. Continue your blanket stitch to secure the ribbon and carry on stitching around the edges of your crown.
  1. Repeat step 12 on the opposite side of your crown with a piece of ribbon cut in the same length
  1. Tie your blanket stitch off securely once you've sewn the entirety of the crown. You're finished!

All that's left to do is try it on your little one (or, if you're young at heart, you can even make one for yourself). Add the number that applies to the birthday being celebrated and your birthday king or queen is ready for their big day!

Did you make a birthday crown, following my tutorial, for someone you love? If so, we'd love to see it! Share your finished projects on social media and be sure to tag @the.felted.fawn and @the_felt_store We love seeing your creations.

Happy crafting and happy birthday!

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