A few weeks ago, I mentioned a recent challenge issued by a bare-headed lovely named Rachelle: make a unique headpiece for a special occasion… on a budget.

Now I am not the craftiest of cats, so I did a little research before I hit the shops for my supplies. ASOS was full of inspiration, and also a few shock-horror moments: I know Philip Treacy is a something of a deity to the be-hatted set, but really, £325 for a headpiece? Ye, gods!

Going by what I liked on ASOS, and what looked doable without a glue gun, I decided to go with the elasticised ribbon tie-on style of fascinator (not a technical term!). For this, I would need elasticised ribbon, some sort of net, a pretty little item (flower, butterfly or antique dead bird a la SJP) and a base on which to anchor all this finery.

Time to hit the shops. I headed to Borovick Fabrics in Soho for milliner’s netting (the stiff veil-type net on hats) and glossy black stretchy ribbon. I bought a metre of each for a total price of £3.75.

Next, some colour to go with my black basics. A friend had recently bought some clip-on butterflies from the huge fancy-dress section of So High Soho so I nipped over there to see if they would fit the bill. Done, for £2.50. What’s more, one of the women in the shop actually makes fascinators and gave me a few tips on how to work with my netting.

Finally, I needed a base. For that I went to Kleins, on Noel St in Soho. I bought the last black base, made of a straw-like material, and a spool of tough black thread for £3.91. I had needles at home, but if you don’t, just an everyday sewing needle will do.

Fascinator supplies

First step was to attach the ribbon straps to the base. I cut the ribbon in half and then stitched the straight-cut ends to the base. Make sure you leave the diagonally-cut ends free as you don’t want your straps to fray. I stitched the ribbon about an inch in from the edge of the base.

Stitching the ribbon to the base

Next step – work the netting into a shape you like. The amateur milliner I spoke with suggested I use my netting for height and volume, not a veil, as it is apparently very difficult to get the veil to hang right. I took her advice. I didn’t cut the netting either: I thought the metre would be too much, but it turned out to be just right.

Folding the netting

Once I was happy with my netting sculpture, for lack of a better word, I needed to affix it to the base. My suggestion is to put your hair the way you plan to wear it, then attach the base to your head in the way you plan to wear it, and then position your sculpture.

Once you’ve got the whole thing looking right, pin the sculpture to the base and take it off in one piece – it’s time to stitch.

Be sure to really, really stitch the netting on. Stitch from several angles and in several places – one can only imagine the horror if one’s fascinator waved madly in the breeze and/or came apart!

Netting stitched to base

Finally, time to ornament my little headpiece. This was the easiest step, as my little butterfly came on a convenient clip. And here it is, the finished product!

The finished fascinator

Et voila, the fascinator in action:

From the front

And from the side…

Fascinator side view

My purchases came to just £10.16, and I spent about 90 minutes on my headpiece (I also swore like a sailor and poked about a dozen holes in my right index finger, so if you are even a tiny bit crafty you could easily shave 30 minutes off my time and still be guaranteed a stunning result).

Here are my receipts:

Fascinator receipts

As for money saved… with similar fascinators at ASOS coming in somewhere between £10 and hundreds, I’ll take £45 as my benchmark price… which means I saved £34.39! What’s more, mine is easy to change up: I can just unclip the butterfly and clip on something else for a totally different look.

My parting comment on this challenge: I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. In fact, I plan to hold onto my little headpiece so I can wear it at some point… and should an occasion arise where I need a non-black fascinator, I would most surely make another.

Care to issue a challenge of your own? Hop to it!