Yarncrafting Costumes: Designing a Moon Crown

My knitted costuming adventures continue! This time on a cosmic scale…

I’m very drawn to the moon – for its symbolism and beauty, and as a visual marker of the passage of time. When the theme of “cosmic carnival” was announced for a costume party, I jumped on the opportunity to create a moon-related costume. At first I considered trying to recreate the Moon Tarot card – a concept I might pursue at a later date. For this project, I wanted something simpler and less time-consuming to make, since (as usual) I was working on a tight deadline. I decided to knit the phases of the moon into a headpiece.

For my yarn, I chose Vanna’s Glamour^® held double. I used two strands of Onyx for the new moon and darkened portions of moon phases, and held together a strand each of Topaz and Platinum for the full moon and light sections of lunar moon phases. The champagne and silver shades combined to create a subtle marled effect.

When I’m in the brainstorming stages of a costume project, I like to chat with the knowledgeable staff at our Lion Brand Yarn Studio to hash out design ideas. What technique would work well to knit flat circles for the moon phases? They recommended a pattern using short rows, which I adapted for this project.

For the crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous moon phases, which required both the light and dark yarns, I used the intarsia technique to incorporate both colors.

Jewelry wire and floral wire have quickly become essential in my crafty costume toolbox. I used thick gauge jewelry wire to attach the circles to the store-bought crown that formed the base of my headpiece. This wire is sturdy enough to hold the circles upright. Thin gauge floral wire was perfect for wrapping around the thicker wire to fasten the components to the crown even more securely.

A silver dress from my costume stash, silver accessories, and glitter rounded out the look. With a string of LED lights wrapped around the crown, this lunar queen was all set to light up the cosmic carnival!