Get Festival-Ready with a Knit Flower Crown

Now that it’s officially spring, we can start thinking ahead to summer fashions — which include festival wear. Whether you’re headed to Coachella next month, trekking to Bonnaroo, or plan to rock out at something local later in the season, you’ll want to have the perfect look. One of the most ubiquitous accessories you’ll see at any fest is the flower crown.

Sure, you could go out and buy one. But why do that when you can knit your own? It’s easy, cheap, and fun to make! You’ll also end up with a piece that travels well and is lightweight and comfortable to wear.

All you need is some DIYarn and a little creativity!

Make Your Own Flower Crown

There’s no single set pattern for a crown, but it’s made up of several smaller components. Basically, you need a band and you need flowers. The exact types, colors, and amount are up to you.

I used a French Knitter (or knitting spool) to make the band. Following the instructions that came with the spool, I made three cords slightly larger than the circumference of my head.

I decided to do two of the cords in Grass (which is currently backordered online) and one in Green. Based on personal preference and availability, you could do all three in the same shade, or even do a completely different color. If you don’t want to use the French knitter, simply make 4-stitch i-cords instead.

Next, you’ll need the flowers. Use our Stitch Finder to choose which ones to make — we have them in both knit and crochet — and how many. I knit two Dahlias and three Roses.

Since I wanted the flowers to stand up, I knit with a tight gauge. DIYarn is a category 4 weight, and the band recommends a US 8 (5 mm) needle. For these, I used a US 5 (3.75 mm) needle.

The roses are, from left to right in that picture, Yellow, Hot Pink, and Lilac colorways.

I used the same gauge for the dahlias. Since they’re a bit bigger, I only made two, to place between the three roses for variety in the crown. The ones here are knit in Teal and Orange.

To frame the flowers, I made two leaves. Once I finished all of the components, it was time to put it together.

Assembly

I started by making the band. Holding the ends together with stitch markers (you could also use safety pins), I braided the three cords.

This provides a nice, stable base for the flowers and helps them stand up on your head.

Keeping the braided ends tight, I formed the piece into a circle, making sure not to twist it.

I then lined up the ends and tied the yarn tails together to hold them in place.

Using those yarn tails, I sewed the ends of the braid together to form the circle, pulling the end into the cord to finish it.

This leaves you with a neat seam that holds firm.

Next, I laid out the flowers to decide what order I wanted them to go in. I sewed them on working from the center flower outward, to maintain symmetry.

I first secured the flower to the band by tying the ends in a tight knot, then using them to sew the base of the flower down. Make sure you work the entire circumference of the flower base so that it stands up evenly and doesn’t tip to one side.

Repeat this with the remaining flowers, sitting them close together, both for the appearance and to help support each piece.

I then affixed the leaves to the outermost flowers. I sewed the stem tightly into the band, then whip stitched the leaf to the outside of the flower. Without doing this, the leaves may fall outward and lay flat instead of framing the roses. If you prefer the look of them laying down, you can skip securing them and just sew down the stem.

Now your flower crown is done! Try it on and bask in how cute and unique you look. If you want, wrap fairy lights around the crown for an added touch of whimsy.

Variations

The whole point of making a flower crown is to have it be your own individual creation. So you don’t have to follow exactly what I did!

Try different flowers. There are several options in our Stitch Finder. You can make all different one, do all the same flower, combine knit and crochet, or whatever you want.

Play with color. I chose green for the leaves and band, but you don’t have to! A neutral color could look lovely, or you could go wild and use something loud. Change up the flowers so that they are all one color, or alternate between two. I opted for mainly brights, but DIYarn comes in several pastel shades as well.

Make them sparkle! I added the lights after the fact for extra fun, but you could also use a glittery yarn. Vanna’s Glamour®, Glitterspun®, and certain packs of Bonbons® contain metallic, so go wild. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust your needle size since those yarns are different weights than DIYarn. If you have experience knitting with beads, you may want to work them in as well. You could also add baby’s breath in around flowers or tie ribbons to the band.

Have you ever made your own festival wear? What did you make?