Everyone’s favourite part of my Dejiko is my bells, which really jingle! It’s my favourite part too. I thought they deserved their own article to show you how they were made.

Yes! The bells really do jingle!

Difficulty: Medium
Time: 5 hours

They started life as a clear plastic decoupage ball – the kind you can get from many craft stores. They come in varying sizes, so you might want to take a small mirror and check their sizing against your head. I had many a strange look at my local craft store, which was very interested when they asked me what I wanted them for.

The decoupage balls are designed to be taken apart, decorated and put back together, and they are quite strong and thick plastic. I made my first cuts with a dremel tool which allowed me to position a jewelers saw and cut around the intricate shape. A jeweler's saw is designed for this kind of intricate work.

When the cuts were finished I evened them off with some sand paper, while being careful of the finish of the smooth plastic. You don’t want to sand the plastic or it will show up in your paint job.

I used folk art paint for its superior gold colour. This gold actually looks shiny as it has some kind of metallic powder which catches the light. The cheaper gold paints look brown and dull. To achieve a nice finish I had to do 3 or 4 coats.

When the painting was done I used a small hand drill to put two very small holes in the side opposite the cut. Using some wire, I suspended a real bell on the inside and formed a loop on the outside so I had something to thread the ribbon through. Then the two halves were glues together.

The hat was made out of polar fleece. I used a very basic shape for the ears and a 6 panel hat pattern. The eyes are simple ovals with a wide zigzag stitch like is used for appliqué to form the pupils. After sewing together the hat with the ears in the top seam, I pinned the eyes and carefully hand sewed around them. Just near the end I put a little stuffing inside to make them raised from the hat.

Blue ribbon was used to tie on the bells using a wide needle to thread it through the polar fleece of the hat just below the ears. The bells are held on only by the ribbons and the whole lot sits atop my wig without any pins or support.

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