How to Make a Native American Headdress?

To be honest, I have always wanted to own my own Native American Headdress and a dreamcatcher.

Today, we are going to focus on the Native American Headdress.

Indian Headdresses are fun and easy to make. These beautiful Native American Women’s Headdresses can be used as decoration in a car by hanging them from the rearview mirror, or in the home alongside other Native American decor. These are popular items often found for sale at trade shows, craft fairs, and pow-wows.

Native American Chief Headdresses are large and ornate, typically made of feathers and beads. According to native-languages.org, these Native American Headdresses are called “warbonnets” and are worn by the Sioux, Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Plains Cree tribes. When you decide to make a Native American headdress, it is good to know the history of the headdress and what it was used for; learning the origin of your craft project can be exciting for everyone. With a little patience and dedication, you can create your own Native American Men’s Headdress or women’s version.

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A complete list of things you will need:


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1) Making the base


2.1
You will need:


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2) Preparing the feathers


3.1
You will need:


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3) Creating the main frame


4.1
You will need:


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4) Making the decorative band


5.1
You will need:


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5) Assembling it all


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Indian Headdress on sale:

A complete list of things you will need:

• 1 sheet of A4 paper
• 2 sheets of foam (A4 size)
• Scissors
• Glue (I used Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, highly recommended for this project)
• Hole punch
• Eyelet punch
• Black felt fabric
• About 60 feathers
• Thread (sewing thread)
• Small wooden skewers
• Pliers to break the wooden skewers (they can be quite hard to break)
• Small turkey feathers (in several colors)
• Stapler (optional)
• Puffy paint
• Red thread (I used DMC embroidery floss)
• Feather garland/boa (small)

1) Making the base

You will need:

• 1 sheet of A4 paper
• 2 sheets of foam (A4 size)
• Scissors
• Glue (I used Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, highly recommended for this project)
• Hole punch
• Eyelet punch
• Black felt fabric

1. Fold a piece of A4 paper in half and draw the following shape (a bit like a shark fin, but slightly more curved). Cut out the shape you drew. What you get will look like a crescent, which is why I’m going to call it “the crescent.”

   

2. Measure the size of the crescent, although I have a feeling it should fit most heads. The tail on each side of the crescent should extend approximately from one side of your head (near your temples) to the other.
3. If the size is right, place “the crescent” on a sheet of foam. Trace and cut the foam following the shape of the crescent. If not, enlarge it using a larger sheet of paper and foam. Do this twice so you have two foam sheets of the same shape. Don’t worry if the crescent is slightly larger on your head.

   

4. Using a punch, make a hole on each side of the crescent’s tail and place an eyelet. Make sure that when the two pieces of foam overlap, the eyelets are aligned.

   

5. Cut out two small rectangles of felt and glue the felt pieces onto the sides of ONE foam sheet. This helps extend the side part of the base. It will look roughly like this. The other piece of foam will be used later.
6. I measured the whole thing on my head and cut the top to about 6.5cm in height. So, no more crescent.

2) Preparing the feathers

You will need:

• About 60 feathers (this quantity may vary depending on your personal preference. You can use duck or turkey feathers. Mine are about 12 inches from tip to tip)
• Black felt
• Thread
• Glue
• Scissors
• Small wooden skewers (in the same number as the feathers used, I used bamboo) (optional)

1. (This step is optional. I only did this to lengthen my feathers to make my headdress larger). Take a skewer and add a small amount of glue to its sharp edge. Then, glue it through the open end of the feather. You might need to trim the end of the feather a bit if the opening isn’t large enough. Do this for all the feathers.

   

2. Set the feathers aside. Then, cut small pieces (rectangles) of black felt; I measured mine at about 7.5cm x 11.5cm, also in the same number as the feathers used.
3. Place a generous amount of glue on one side of the rectangle (as in the photo) and wrap the felt around the feather. Add glue to the other end of the felt and glue it all together.

   

   

   

   

4. While holding the felt in place, tie sewing thread around the felt to keep it tight. With the thread, you will first need to make a dead knot before going around the felt, leaving enough thread at the knotted end to make another knot when you are finished.

3) Creating the main frame

You will need:

• Base of the Native American headdress (the two foam sheets)
• Prepared feathers
• Glue
• Needle and thread
• Small turkey feathers
• Stapler (optional)

1. Arrange the prepared feathers (step 2) on the base (made in step 1) according to the desired height. Ideally, the tallest feathers should be in the middle and the shorter ones on the side, to create the curved shape of an ancient Indian headdress. The wrapped felt piece should be placed firmly on top of the foam base.
2. Glue the feathers; I used a brush for this. I also sewed the feathers using a needle and thread for extra strength. Did you notice how the feathers were arranged to follow a specific direction? There are right and left feathers (each curving in different directions), so be careful to arrange them in order.
3. Fill the entire base and cut off the excess wooden skewers.
4. Secure everything with more glue, then add several shorter feathers on the sides (extended felt side) using the same method as above – glue + needle and thread. The side feathers were not attached to skewers.

   

5. Next, add more glue to the top row of feathers and cover the exposed part with the extra foam sheet (from step 1). Let it dry for a few hours. Use weights, like books, to ensure it glues well.

   

   

6. Once dry (it shouldn’t take long), cover the top foam sheet with smaller turkey feathers. I wanted to use red but could only get black and white. Arrange them according to the pattern/color you want. I did it so the white is at the bottom and the black is at the top for a bit of contrast. Same principle: longest in the middle, shortest on the side. Use glue or staples, or both.

   

   

7. Cut the excess feathers following the shape of your base.

4) Making the decorative band

You will need:

• Black felt
• Puffy paint (I used this one by AMOS)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Red thread
• Feather garland/boa

1. At this point, your DIY Indian headdress is almost finished. Thread string through the eyelets, tie it around your head, and see how it fits. The empty space on your forehead (which depends on the width of your forehead and how high you want the Native American headdress to be placed), just below where your “Indian feather headdress” is, will be about the size of the decorative band.
2. Cut out some black felt. I measured mine at about 6cm wide and about 50cm long.
3. Measure distances of 2cm at the top and bottom, and draw triangles.
4. Create the desired design using puffy paint and let it dry overnight for the best results. Use a hairdryer to puff up the paint to create the illusion of beads.
5. For the round ends on the sides, cut four felt circles with a diameter slightly larger than the decorative band.
6. On two of the circles, with a needle and thread, sew feathers and other bits of string (or any other interesting object). I braided colored string just to add a bit of character. The idea here is to create a bit of volume. Don’t worry if it looks messy. Secure everything with glue.

   

   

7. On the other two circles, draw four lines on each circle (photo above) and connect the points to form a star.
8. You can use paint or thread to decorate the star. Since I had a little more time, I used thread (see the last photo).

   

5) Assembling it all

1. Attach the decorative band to the main frame of the Native American headdress using glue and thread (I only sewed the sides).

   

2. Glue the circles (the ones with feathers and strings) onto the decorative band. Secure with stitching.
3. Cover the stitching by gluing the circles with the stars directly onto those from step #2 above.
4. Trim the edge of the decorative band and you’re done!

   

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