Creating a Tribal Headdress from Seashells

Dressing up in costume can be fun for adults as well as children, but when it comes to making an original costume, sometimes coming up with an idea for head wear can be a challenge. Whether it is for Halloween or a masquerade ball, a simple costume such as a hula grass skirt may feel complete for some individuals; for others, something eyecatching to top it off, such as a tribal headdress made of seashells and feathers can be the crowning glory for your costume.

To make the headdress, you will need the following items:

a felt beanie hat, sized to fit

a bag of ring top cowrie shells or money cowrie shells, or a combination of both

a hot glue gun

invisible beading thread

beading needle

large colorful feathers, five or six of them

white fabric pencil

Remove any lint from the hat. Starting at the very bottom edge of the hat, use the hot glue gun to attach the small cowrie shells. The teeth on each shell will faced outward so that it is visible. Once the first row is glued, start on the second row, making sure the shells are placed close to the first row, with the teeth of the shell facing out. Repeat until you reach the top of the hat. As each circle gets smaller, you can fill in the remaining space with however many shells will fit. Continue gluing the shells until the entire hat is covered with them.

For the next part, the same shells will be used to forms strands of shells that will span the length from ear to ear on the hat. Each strand will be then sewn to the edge of the hat. To make each strand, lay in a row on the table enough shells to form a 7″ length. Thread your beading needle with the beading thread, make a knot at the end of the thread. Set the thread inside the teeth of the shell so the knotted end will be at the bottom of the completed strand. Bring the needle around the other side of the shell, then bring up through the knotted end, and tie a small second knot to hold the shell in place. With the needle, insert under the loop of thread laying on the smooth side of the shell so that the thread is at the top of the shell once again. Repeat the same procedure with the second shell, but instead of brining the needle all the way back down to the first shell, make the knot at the bottom of the second shell so that it separates the bottom shell from the second one. Continue until you have reached your 7″ length. Instead of cutting off the needle from the strand of shells, you are going to take the finished strand of shells, needle included, and sew it to the edge of the hat. As you make each strand and sew it to the edge close to the nest strand, try on the hat at regular intervals. What you can do is use the fabric pencil to mark off where the strands should end at the hat. There has to be an opening for the face so you don’t have strands of shells getting in the way of your vision. The ears will be covered by the shells, though.

Once all of the shells are in place, the feathers will finally be added. Ideally, the feathers should be positioned at the top of the hat and draping down slightly towards the back. Use feathers with a natural curve to them. Using the glue gun, attach the feathers to the top of the hat. If desired, the glued feather base can be covered with more seashells. Your tribal headdress is now finished.

Storing it is quite easy. Wrap the hat in a plastic bag that is acid free, making sure it doesn’t get crushed. Keep in a regular hat box on the shelf in your closet.

Image Credit: Mary Harrsch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.