Mardi Gras headdress workshop in Austin: how to make one that's parade-worthy

A Mardi Gras headdress workshop in Austin is the fastest way to a headdress that didn't come out of a party-store bag. You can build one that's light enough to wear all night and loud enough to be seen from the back of the crowd. Here's how a headdress is built, start to finish, and when to start for Mardi Gras 2027.

See what's on at Glitz

What happens at a Mardi Gras headdress workshop in Austin?

At a Mardi Gras headdress workshop in Austin you build a full headdress from the base up, with a teacher showing each layer and a table of feathers, flowers and jewels to pull from. The Glitz version runs over two days in January in East Austin, so you leave with a finished, wearable piece before Fat Tuesday.

How do you make a Mardi Gras headdress?

You make a Mardi Gras headdress by building up from a snug base: a headband or cap, a light frame for height, a layer of fabric or sequins to hide the frame, then feathers, flowers and jewels placed so the weight sits low and centered. Do the structure first and the sparkle last.

That order is the whole secret. Most headdresses that wilt by 10pm were glued in the wrong order.

The four layers of a parade-worthy headdress

Every headdress Jillian builds, from festival pieces to editorial shoots, comes down to four layers that each solve one problem.

• The base keeps it on your head. A wide fitted headband, a skullcap or a wire cage. Comfort here decides how long you’ll wear it.
• The frame gives it height and shape. Millinery wire, buckram or a craft-foam crown. Keep it light.
• The skin hides the frame. Sequin fabric, velvet, tulle or rows of fringe.
• The show is everything people photograph. Feathers, silk flowers, jewels, beads and one piece nobody expects.

Step by step: build a Mardi Gras headdress

This is the method taught in the Glitz workshop, cut down to the essentials. Give yourself a full day, or two if you go tall.

1. Fit the base to your head first. Wear it for ten minutes. If it pinches now, it will hurt by midnight.
2. Shape the frame and attach it low. Wire the frame to the base at three or more points so it can’t rock.
3. Cover the frame. Glue or stitch fabric over it in strips. Hide every bit of wire.
4. Place the big pieces. Feathers and large flowers go in first, spread so the weight balances front to back.
5. Fill and layer. Smaller blooms, beads and jewels work into the gaps around the big pieces.
6. Add the drop. A fringe or bead curtain at the back or sides makes it move when you do.
7. Secure it. Elastic under the hair, or bobby-pin loops sewn into the base.

Use hot glue for light trims and a needle and thread or wire for anything heavy. Feathers glued straight to fabric fall out. Feathers wired into a bundle stay put.

Mardi Gras colors and how to break them

Traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple, green and gold. They are a starting point, not a dress code. Glitz headdresses lean into the brand palette, hot orange, pink and violet, with gold as the glue, and a mirror or rhinestone piece to catch the light.

If you want it to read as Mardi Gras from a distance, keep at least one of the classic three in the mix. Then do whatever you like with the rest.

When to start for Mardi Gras 2027

Fat Tuesday falls on February 9, 2027, so start your headdress in January. That gives you time to wear-test it and fix anything that wobbles.

The Glitz Mardi Gras Headdress Workshop runs over two days in January in East Austin, so you leave with a finished piece, not a half-glued idea. The dates go on the calendar as soon as they’re set. Want to warm up first? The Christmas turban and headband workshop uses the same base skills, and Tuesday open studio is a good place to keep working on it.