How to Make a Headpiece / Circlet with wire

Headpieces or circlets give you an enchanting look, and I’ve been seeing a lot of these on Pinterest. Since I had some wire lying around from the DIY snake arm cuff project, I decided to make my own headpiece with it 🙂

This is a perfect addition to your dance costume or festival outfit this spring and summer. In this video, you will see how to make this headpiece design. So let’s get started.

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To make your own wire headpiece/circlet, you need:

14 gauge and 24 gauge wire (like this one and this one (affiliate)) – these are the same sizes of wire that I used in the snake arm cuff DIY.

Wire cutting pliers (like this one (affiliate))

A couple of pairs of jewelry pliers (like this one (affiliate))

Ribbon to match your hair colour – you need about 70cm or 28in.

Needle and matching colour thread

How to Make a Headpiece / Circlet

First, take the 14 gauge wire and cut it into…

1 piece of 40cm or 16 in long wire

2 pieces of 20cm or 8in long wire

2 pieces of 15cm or 6in long wire

Next, take the 40cm or 16in long wire piece, and fold it at the middle point and cross the 2 ends. Use your thumb to make the wire smooth and round. Then curl the both ends toward the loop in the middle using pliers like this. Try to make the curls symmetrical. We’ll call this piece Part A.

Then, take the shorter pieces of wire, and using 2 pairs of pliers, curl the ends in opposite direction, and make it into a gentle S shape. We’ll call the 20cm or 8in ones Part B, and the shorter ones Part C.

Now take the 24 gauge wire and cut it into 5cm or 2in pieces. Make 11 of these.

Take the 2 Part B pieces, and a piece of 24 gauge wire. Connect the Part B pieces right under the curls by wrapping the 24 gauge wire tightly and neatly several times. Cut any excess wire, and at this point I decide that the side I’m seeing is going to be the front of the circlet, so I make sure the wire ends are not pointing down the other way or they will poke my forehead. Adjust the curls so they look nice and symmetrical.

Now we’ll connect Part A and Part B’s. Place Part A on top of Part B’s, and re-shape Part B’s so that they cross Part A twice, and the curls of Part B touch the Part A wire on the outside of the curve.

I find it easier to tape the parts down to the working surface so they don’t move around once I’m happy with the shapes. Take the 24 gauge wire pieces and wrap them a few times at all crossing points to keep them all in place. Then take off the tape, and tighten all the wire pieces. Pressing the wrapped wire with pliers makes it sturdier.

Then place Part C’s so the bottom part touches both Parts A and B. Re-shape as needed. I just curled the outside end more. Tape it down, and connect the 2 intersecting points with 24 gauge wire. And repeat on the other side.

I just love the curls and pretty curves. 😀

It’s okay if Part C’s are a little loose, because they will be pulled by the ribbon later and they don’t shift around very much, but Parts A & B’s should stay together well.

Now use your fingers and gently shape the whole thing so that it fits your forehead. You can go stand in front of the mirror and shape it until it stays on your forehead well just by holding the top curls of Part C’s.

Next take the ribbon, cut it in half. Wrap the end around the top curl of Part C and sew it by hand. Or you can use fabric glue or E6000 (affiliate) if you want to skip the sewing. Do the same for the other end.

And it’s finished! I added a little beaded strand in the middle with a piece of 24 gauge wire, but I think it’s very pretty without the beads, or if you like, you can decorate it with rhinestones, chains, silk flowers…whatever you like!

Hope you liked this tutorial, and if you make your own, please share a photo on Sparkly Belly’s Facebook page. And sign up for the newsletter from the below link to get updates and free access to special patterns and resources only available to newsletter subscribers.

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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!

P.S. Happy pinning! 😉