How to Make Pageant Tiaras

A pagant tiara can be made with glass beads.

Pageant tiaras are a type of tiara that is used to crown the pageant winners. They are usually made from inexpensive materials, but they can cost quite a bundle. There is no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy tiara. A tiara can easily be made from some wire, a headband and some glass beads. This tiara will look just as good as the store-bought tiaras, but cost much less.

Things You'll Need

• Glass beads
• 24-gauge floral wire
• Wire cutters
• Thin headband
• Paper
• Pencil
• Spray paint
• Masking tape

Instructions

Making the Beads

1. Decide what you want your tiara to look like. This will determine how many bead sections that you need to make. You can use a picture of a tiara that you like, or you can draw a design onto paper.

2. Cut several strips of wire, each about 8 inches long. Take one bead (it can be larger than the others if you desire) and slide it into the middle of one wire segment. Fold the wire in half around the bead, and twist the two sides of the wire together three times under the bead. Slide one more bead over both ends of the wire placing it over the twisted section of wire. Separate the two sides of the wire again.

3. Place three beads onto each separate section of the wire. Twist the two sections of wire together under the beads. This will create a beaded circle. Place one bead over the twisted section of wire, hiding the twisted area. Separate the wires again, and slide five beads onto each side of the wire. Twist the wires together below the second bead circle.

4. Cut a piece of wire 6 inches long. Place three beads onto the middle of the wire. Twist the two ends of the wire together six times under the beads. Make five more bead trios just like the first one. Set the beads aside for now.

5. Cut a piece of wire about 8 inches long. Slide a bead to the middle of the wire and twist the wire three times below the bead. Hold the ends of the wire together and slide seven beads over the double wire. Separate the wires, and place one bead on one of the wires. Twist the wire together three times under the last bead. Create five more beaded sections just like this one to complete the bead columns.

Forming the Tiara

1. Take the first beaded section that you made, and place it in the middle of the headband. Twist the remaining ends of the wire tightly around the headband to hold the beads into place.

2. Attach the other beads to the headband in the same manner. Alternate the two types of beaded sections, starting with the smaller section. You want each side of the headband to look as follows: bead trio, bead column, bead trio, bead column, bead trio and bead column. Try to make each beaded column the same height and each bead trio the same height all across the headband. Do not make any segment higher than the first one.

3. Cut a piece of wire about 24 inches long. Start from the middle of the headband. Wrap the wire around the headband, adding a bead to one side of the wire so that it sits on the front of the headband, covering the wires. Wrap the wire around the bead one time on each side to secure the bead in place. Repeat for the entire headband, completely covering all exposed wires.

Tips & Warnings

• Use these simple directions as a jumping-off point for your own ideas. Thousands of pageant tiaras can be made using the same principles, just different designs and patterns.

• If you don't like the color of the exposed wires, you can spray paint the wire to match the headband once the tiara is complete. Use masking tape to protect the beads from being painted.

References

• 5 Min: How to Make a Tiara
• Tiara Town: Pageant Tiaras