How To: Sinamay Fascinator Base

Sinamay is a material that apparently (from my google research) is made up of banana plant fibres. A very popular material used in millinery and quite fun to work with.

HERE IT IS…

TO make a sinamay fascinator base all you will need is a piece of sinamay (I bought my supply from http://www.judithm.com), and a needle and thread (preferably the same colour).

Step 1:

Cut a strip of sinamay on the bias (the diagonal) roughly 1 inch wide.

Step 2:

Fold one side (length wise) into the centre,

fold the other side into the centre

Then fold it all in half (length wise again) like so.

Don’t worry if your strip looks uneven. The great thing about sinamay is that it has a great stretch on the bias. So give that strip a good tug (again length wise), your edges will even out and you should get something that looks like this.

Step 3:

Take another piece of sinamay, double it up and cut out a round circle.

Line up the two circles and cut a slit into the centre.

Step 4:

Over lap one side of the slit onto the other side making a cone. Take your strip of sinamay and sandwich the edge of the circle.

A simple running stitch along the top of the strip secures the strip onto the circle. Sinamay cut on the bias will bend nicely around the circle but will need some encouragement to do so. Little tugs and pulls in the right works great. Make your way all around the circle.

When you are nearing the end cut the strip about 1 cm more than you think you will need. Open the strip up and fold in the ends for a finished look.

A couple of running stitches along the edge to ensure that the strip is fully secured and voila…