Straw Crowns

I couldn't make it to Harvest Home this year, but did finish the new crowns for the harvest king and queen.

The pictures were a bit rushed, I'm afraid.

This time, I plaited both crowns in whole-straw (7-strand Dunstable to be precise) rather than split for a more substantial crown, and worked the decorative elements directly into the plait itself. I also tweaked the fit, and sewed the bands into the crown shape, with the ends plaited in, rather than trying to knot the ends. The effect is a stronger and more substantial than my first attempts, though still light.

The crown on the left has spreuer leaves, and a quilled rosette at the center front, covering a sewn join in the band. The crown on the right has spreuer wheat sheaves in both positions. 

While I haven't found any original straw crowns or depictions of harvest kings/queens, the materials are all appropriate to the mid-19th century, being wheat straw and a bit of cotton thread. The decorative motifs are from Swiss Straw Work: Techniques of a Fashion Industry by Veronica Main, and do show up in period hat-ornaments, though the manner they are used here if my own invention.