When a family asked me to design a shoot for them around an Alice in Wonderland theme, my mind was immediately whirring away! Here’s a breakdown of the Queen of Hearts costume I designed for the mom of the family.
First up, was the sketch.
I tackled the headpiece next, using poster board, cardboard, artificial roses (red, of course!), and a headband.
Then, it was the collar. I did a lot of research about Elizabethan whisks and decided to model the queen’s collar after them. I used 3 partial decks of playing cards in varying sizes, 16-gauge wire, needle and thread and glue.
I used a red tulle skirt that I had made earlier with a white corset, stitched up a ruched shrug the day of, and made pleated cuffs and a pleated neck piece. Below is the completed look. I will post images from the shoot soon!
37 Comments
I love the pic!!! Sorry I forgot about modeling the cuffs!
December 30, 2013 at 6:12 pmno worries, rosi!
December 30, 2013 at 10:45 pmHi how did u do the cuffs?
January 12, 2019 at 7:42 amHi there! Thanks so much for the question. If you read through the comments, I have some details on the cuffs there for ya.
January 15, 2019 at 9:25 amBeautiful !!! You have wonderful ideas for the queen of hearts!!
How did you do the cuffs and the ruffled neck pieces???
Lynn
October 8, 2014 at 8:29 amThanks so much, Lynn!
If you have a sewing machine and know basics (and I mean basics- I’m no seamstress!) the cuffs and neck piece are actually pretty easy. I started with a large rectangle of white fabric for each piece and ironed pleats into them until they were the length I wanted. I don’t have the exact dimensions of the fabric but leave it three or four times longer than you’ll want it to end up on one side and the exact width you want on the other. If you have been pleating a while and it looks like you’ll wind up short of fabric, don’t start over-just sew on another piece. The seam is easy to hide in a pleat. I left the edges raw because I liked the look but you could also hem those before you start pleating.
Once you’ve got the size you like for the wrists and neck, sew a zigzag stitch down the center to secure the pleats. I put this seam a little off-center on the neck so you can adjust that to your liking. Over that seam on the inside, sew on your ties. I used strips of the same fabric (with raw edges again) as ties but you could also use ribbon, if you like. I liked the wrist ties left really long.
If you need help with pleating (it’s really just a lot of measuring and ironing), there are a ton of great tutorials online.
Hope that helps! Good luck with your project!
October 8, 2014 at 11:27 am[…] favorites from the Wonderland family shoot. For the making of the queen’s costume, see this post. What a beautiful family! Mad hatter: hat, accessories and photo by me. Alice: dress by Good […]
March 27, 2015 at 11:23 amHow did you make the collar?
September 17, 2015 at 9:03 pmHi Melissa!
Since the costume technically had two collars, I’ll address them both.
For the card collar, or whisk, I first made a template from posterboard. It took a little trial and error but once it looked about right, I laid out the wire frame on top of it, wrapping the ends. After that, I bent the frame into roughly the shape I wanted.
Next, I laid out my playing cards on top of my template, taped them together, and then sewed them together on my machine. After they were stitched, I pulled off the tape. I then attached the cards to the wire frame with stitches and glue.
The inside white collar was made pretty much the same way as I made the cuffs (see the previous comment for the how-to). Just adjust the width of the fabric to be the desired height of the collar and you’re all set. I also added a second layer of fabric in a smaller size to add a little bit more depth.
Hope that’s helpful! Let me know if you have any specific questions. Happy costuming!
September 18, 2015 at 9:20 amCan you explain how you did the headpiece in more specifics? I want to make this and am just a bit confused, specifically with how the rose piece attaches to the headband and whether it is double sided or not. Thanks and I love your ideas!
September 28, 2015 at 1:52 pmHi Kristy!
I made mine single-sided but you could totally do double, if you had the inkling. I cut out the cardboard into a half-heart shape, tracing around the top of the headband at the bottom of the cardboard piece to make that curved cut-out. (I used a wide, stiff headband.) I painted the cardboard red and then glued the roses to it, stem side down. After that, I glued the curved cut-out end of the cardboard to the headband, again using hot glue.
Hope that is helpful!
September 28, 2015 at 2:47 pmThank you! I am making my daughter an entire queen of hearts outfit. Right now I am finishing up a tulle skirt and making a corset out of cards. This headpiece will go well with it! Thanks again!
September 28, 2015 at 4:58 pmSure thing! I’m sure she will look fantastic.
September 28, 2015 at 6:26 pm[…] Get the tutorial via kindrakeitel […]
October 14, 2015 at 9:47 pmgreat costume. Thanks for posting. I got to do this for Halloween this year. Do you know approximately how many roses you used for headpiece?
Thanks! Steph
October 24, 2015 at 12:04 pmHi Stephanie!
I don’t know for sure but I would estimate around 3 dozen or so. Good luck with your project!
October 24, 2015 at 12:42 pmOMG!!! I just love this costume!! I am planning on making a queen of hearts costume for halloween. This website was really helpful. Thanks again!!!
September 24, 2016 at 10:21 amThanks so much, Nithilah! Happy costuming and happy Halloween!
September 24, 2016 at 4:06 pmHello!!! I just love all these wonderful ideas. I have made the headband for my daughter, she will be the queen of hearts in just a few days. Is there any way I can make the rose section not stable on the headband? Any suggestions on how to keep it from moving so much? Thank you!!!!
October 13, 2016 at 9:25 pmMore stable***
October 13, 2016 at 9:26 pmHi Patty! Thanks so much- I bet your daughter will be adorable!
To attach the roses to the headband, I stitched it first by hand, just wrapping the thread around the headband and then through the roses/cardboard. Around and around and around. Once that was done, I super glued like crazy, all the cracks and seams.
Hope that is helpful. Thanks for stopping by!
October 14, 2016 at 8:36 amThese are lovely ideas!
October 17, 2016 at 10:29 ami really want to make the headpiece, but i am having a hard time finding the right kind of roses. May i ask where you got yours?
Thank you!!
Hi Claudia,
I found these in the Dollar Tree.
I’ve seen similar in a lot of places like big box stores and in crafting supply stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Hope that helps. Thanks so much for stopping by!
October 17, 2016 at 11:27 am[…] Get the tutorial via kindrakeitel […]
January 26, 2017 at 6:06 amThank you….
September 4, 2017 at 11:03 pmYour work has helped me a lot to be able to reproduce it to use for my ballet presentation ….
I’m so glad to hear that!
September 9, 2017 at 5:26 pmI can’t wait to see the finished costume. I have a model who will wear this to our charity dance Feb 3, if I can make it!!
January 5, 2018 at 11:21 amI bet it will be fantastic! You can see the finished look at this post: http://kindrakeitel.com/wonderland-family/
Thanks for dropping by!
January 5, 2018 at 1:34 pmQuestion: How is the card collar held in place? Is it tied by ribbon?
June 7, 2018 at 5:17 amHi, I’d like to know how the card collar was fastened and held in place? Thanks, Janet
June 7, 2018 at 5:38 amHi Janet! Yes, I tied it in place with a ribbon. Thanks so much for stopping by!
June 10, 2018 at 9:29 am[…] kindrakeitel […]
October 23, 2018 at 9:46 am[…] vía kindrakeitel […]
November 3, 2018 at 9:10 amBonjour
December 5, 2018 at 8:58 amJe trouve ça magnifique vous êtes très douée bravo
J’aimerais savoir les dimensions pour la structure en métal pour le col svp
Cordialement corinne
Bonjour
December 7, 2018 at 7:26 amPourriez-vous me dire quelle sont les dimensions de votre structure SVP cordialement corinne merciiîiii
Hi Corrine! I’m afraid I’ll have to answer in English.
It’s been so long since I made these pieces that I’m just not sure of the exact dimensions. I believe the cuffs were about 6″ wide at the widest and probably 6″ long. For the width, you’ll want to cut the fabric about 3 or 4 times what you want the finished length to be, to allow for the pleating. Hope that is helpful. Thanks so much for stopping by! <3
December 7, 2018 at 10:43 amWhat are the measurements of the template on the poster board for the card collar?? Thanks in advance!
February 1, 2019 at 8:29 pm