Queen for a Day

A few years ago, I was confronted with an interesting question: How in the world could I make my gramma’s 94th birthday special, when this woman already experienced such a long life, didn’t need or want for anything, and was in an assisted living home without tons of room to store things? Her eyesight and hearing also were failing.

After some deep thought, followed by a total break from the super exasperating dilemma, it came to me – I’ll crochet her a birthday crown! 

The magenta crochet crown started my absolute obsession with the making of delicate little crowns, adorning them with whatever beads seem to fit best, and starching them. I decorated gramma's with with pearls, then made an adorable matching shawl. 

She loved it so much, and the ladies at her home later told me she refused to take it off! She also thought my mom crocheted it, which in its way, was another compliment. My goal was to make her feel special and loved, and I know I was successful ♥ 

Yarn, Beads & Starch: A Recipe for Royalty 

Since then, I’ve experimented – what sorts of yarn can I force into a crown, how about a total juxtaposition by making it sinister rather than sweet? I have tons of beads, pearls, stones and dangly bits from my years of crafting, so all it takes is opening drawers in my work room and peeking at the inventory. 

I’ve tried black crochet thread with tiny pearls sewn on, a mossy green sport yarn with the most incredible green beads and bits added, even mercerized cotton yarn in hot pink and purple with scrapbook sparklies glued on! They are all incredible! 

I’ve also made taller ones for adults, playing with single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet to add height, and V stitches to make spaces. My favorite top is to run a line of single crochet or slip stitches one third of the way around, center an odd number of shells at the front, and finish with whatever single crochet or slip stitch I was using. The shells (ohemgee I love to make shells!) feature odd counts of double and treble crochet – once again to differentiate height – and always get a gem in the center of each. 

For starch, I’ve used both sugar starch and a recipe of Mod Podge mixed with water. I like the sugar starch best, but the preparation and use is more of a process than the glue is. Both hold up about the same – heat and humidity will make the crowns floppy, so that’s when I got the idea to make them on a wire base. Works great! 

So far, I offer two crochet crown patterns on my website – the Philomena, a taller crown that will need starch, and the Mina Mini Crown, which is crocheted on a wire base. Either pattern can be enlarged or shrunk to fit whatever purpose – I'm planning a tiny Philomena using wire strung with beads right now!