flower girl

Although the summer school holidays in England have only started today the beginning of the new school year is not too far away. The department stores kindly remind parents about it with their “Back to school” display windows.

In Russia the school year starts on 1 September every year designated as a public holiday. Well, unless it falls on the weekend. For first year students  it is an important day. The parents try their best and prepare their children for this new step in their lives by investing a small fortune in the outfits and designer stationary.

In my day girls would wear a school uniform dress as well as a lacy decorative white apron. The hairstyles would vary with plaits prevailing but what most first year girls would have in their hair were enormous foam-like organza bows. Here’s roughly how it looked:

Although the organza bows are still quite popular, they are becoming less so for the discerning Mum. For those of them who are looking for original and one-off accessories I am happy to offer this delicate white silk and lace butterfly:

I used only the best materials to make this unique butterfly headpiece from scratch, including pure satin silk with its soft shine, pure silk organza to double the wings for extra firmness, pure silk dupioni to wrap the headband, as well as floral lace, glass and seed beads and ostrich feathers.

Not only is it great for a girl’s first day at a school in Russia, this versatile girls’ accessory is also ideal for a wedding or a christening party too. The butterfly headpiece is available for purchase from my Etsy shop.
If you are brave enough (or curious enough) to give it a go and try to make a similar headband with a lace butterfly yourself I have prepared a detailed photo tutorial for you. More information on the tutorial as well as a nice bonus you can find in my Tutorial e-store .
Should you have any questions I am here to help.