Russian women, which had the shape of a comb. The name comes from the Old Slavonic word “kokosh”, which translates as rooster or hen. The kokoshnik crest can be different: in the form of a round shield, a crescent, a high pointed one, a wide cylindrical one, a low one with a cap, or in the shape of a crown.

Nowadays, this type of headdress is often used by girls and little girls who wear national costumes for holidays, for folk dance classes, and for matinees in kindergarten and school. This is a very beautiful product, which is traditionally worn by the Snow Maiden, the granddaughter of Father Frost, on New Year's Eve. For the holiday, your child can make a life-size kokoshnik from a pattern for the role of a snowflake, the Snow Queen or the Snow Maiden.

Necessary materials

To sew a kokoshnik you need to have thick cardboard for the comb itself and material for gluing it, for example, brocade or satin. It should be bright and shiny so that the Snow Maiden does not sparkle in the light of the lights. Some craftswomen use a wire frame when sewing so that the life-size kokoshnik according to the pattern does not fall, but maintains its shape. If the headdress is not too high, then only a cardboard structure will be enough.

You also need to take care of decorating the kokoshnik. It was always beautifully decorated with beads, embroidery, sewn piping, and stones. Now in sewing accessories stores you can select a huge amount of modern materials so that a life-size kokoshnik sewn according to a pattern is the most beautiful and elegant.

After the headdress is ready, it needs to be secured with something on the child’s head. To do this, prepare either a wide elastic band or ribbons to match the main color of the kokoshnik or dress of a fairy-tale character. To make a pattern, you will need to draw a template on a piece of whatman paper. You will need a compass, a simple pencil, an eraser, and patterns.

Drawing a pattern

A life-size kokoshnik needs to be drawn after the silhouette of the comb has been selected and measurements have been taken. To make the pattern even and symmetrical, it is better to fold the paper in half and make a template for one half of the headdress. The article presents the average dimensions of the pattern. After the pattern is drawn, you need to draw decorative elements with a simple pencil and roughly think through their placement on the ridge. Then they transfer it along the cut out onto thick cardboard. Then cut out with scissors.

Snow Maiden's Crown

The life-size kokoshnik pattern for the Snow Maiden is drawn in the shape of a crown. This is a special form of comb with beautifully carved symmetrical elements. Here you will need a compass, or you will need to completely redraw the pattern given in the article. When work on decoration is underway, the tops of the crown are decorated with the same elements.

The remaining parts of the ridge are also symmetrical. You can lay out the pattern on the table and try on all the elements, arranging them beautifully over the entire surface. Then the pattern is transferred according to the cut out template onto thick cardboard, and each element is carefully cut out.

Cardboard blank

In order for the life-size comb of a Russian kokoshnik to stay on your head according to the pattern, you need to cut out a support hoop for it. It can be placed both in front of the ridge and on its back side. To draw support, you need to measure the distance from one ear to the other along the line of the forehead. According to these measurements, a crescent moon is drawn on cardboard. You need to step back two centimeters from the inner semicircular line and draw a semicircular line parallel to it. This strip will serve as a support hoop.

You can simply sew cardboard with thick cotton threads, or you can make a frame out of wire, as in the photo above. Then a life-size Russian kokoshnik pattern made from paper will hold its shape well, and the Snow Maiden will be able to move and dance freely, without fear that the comb of the kokoshnik will be deformed.

Different forms of kokoshniks

The article showed patterns for a life-size kokoshnik for a girl, namely a comb. Readers also understood how to draw a support hoop. But there are also other types of kokoshniks, for which it is enough to cut out the long ends and sew satin ribbons to them, with the help of which the headdress will be held on the child’s head. You can also accurately measure the circumference of your head and sew on a wide elastic band, then the kokoshnik will be put on quickly and easily.

There are also options for holding the comb on your head. This is done with the help of a cap, which is sewn around the circumference of the comb and pulled together at the back with an elastic band. You can also imagine support in the form of a scarf, preferably made of organza or a plain thin fabric. It is also sewn on the inside around the circumference of the kokoshnik and tied at the back under the hair in a knot.

Sewing a kokoshnik

When the life-size kokoshnik pattern is made from cardboard according to the diagram, it is covered with fabric on both sides. A support or cap is made, ribbons or an elastic band are sewn on. They do a fitting on the child's head. The kokoshnik should not be cramped and uncomfortable. After all, the holiday lasts a long time, and the child should feel comfortable throughout the entire event. The back side remains in its original form, and the front part of the product is decorated.

Decorating the kokoshnik

As can be seen in the photograph, kokoshniks often cover the frontal part of the head using a mesh of beads. You can buy it separately in the store, and if you wish, weave it on a fishing line from beads of different sizes and colors. It is advisable to purchase oval and elongated elements so that the decoration is flatter. The side bevels at the bottom are also decorated. Long identical thread pendants with shiny beads or balls are sewn there. You can use plastic pieces of Christmas tree garlands in silver or blue colors. On the kokoshnik itself, you first need to draw a pattern with a simple pencil, which will subsequently be applied with pebbles, rhinestones or half-beads. You can trim the edges with piping.

Decorating the crown

When making a kokoshnik using a pattern for cutting and sewing in the shape of a crown, you will have to design all the elements of the tops the same way. Only the central part may differ. Also, the strip around the forehead and the support, if there is one, on the frontal part of the head, in front of the crest, should stand out separately.

• In order to tightly glue the fabric to the cardboard, use transparent “Crystal” glue. It doesn't stain fabric and is very durable. Dries quite quickly.
• You can decorate the kokoshnik using applique. To do this, you need to make elements on adhesive non-woven fabric for compaction. An artificial material is taken, usually satin or crepe-satin. The elements are cut out using a burning machine. The edges are heated and the fabric does not fray.
• The individual elements are glued onto the kokoshnik using an iron and adhesive tape.

• The braid and rhinestones are glued using a glue gun. Gold braid of different shapes looks beautiful. Along the edges of the kokoshnik, the braid is covered with coins (with round identical elements), and the frontal semicircle is covered with braid with tassels. They hang over the forehead, and then there will be no need to make a net of beads.
• On the back side, instead of ribbons that need to be tied, you can sew a wide elastic band, onto which a large satin bow in the color of the kokoshnik with hanging long ends, cut at an angle, is attached.

The article provides life-size patterns of various kokoshniks, and describes in detail the types of different kokoshniks, both semicircular and crown-shaped. The methods and secrets of original kokoshnik decorations are given. It is told how best to decorate it and what glue it is advisable to use. We hope that after reading the recommendations and tips, a novice master will be able to easily make such a beautiful headdress as in the photographs above. Good luck!

Irina Khursulova

For work we need:

4 sheets of white paper (A4 format, tape, pencil, scissors, plywood, small nails, hammer, pliers, wire, white fleece (mesh, white organza, sewing needles, large beads, beads, threads, silver braid, hot gun, various materials for decoration crowns.

Let's get started:

1. Glue together 4 sheets of white paper (A4 format) with tape between each other.

2. Fold the sheet in half and draw that shape crowns what you want to do (having previously measured the length of the headband adjacent to the head).

3. Cut along the contour.

4. Trace the resulting template onto the plywood.

5. Drive small nails along the contour at a distance of 1 cm. from each other.

6. Place the wire along the contour of the driven nails.

7. We make additional jumpers from wire so that the frame does not bend.

8. In order to crown lay comfortably on the head, you can make an additional fastening.

9. We take two fabrics (in this case, white fleece and white matte organza), put them on top of each other, secure both materials with sewing needles. We apply the finished frame to the fabric and trace it around the perimeter of the frame with a margin of 1.5 cm for hemming.

10. Cut along the contour.

11. Sew along the rim, pulling the fabric very tightly.

12. We also cover the additional fastening with fabric and trim it.

13. We trim all edges of the frame with white bias tape.

14. We decorate the additional fastening with a woven mesh made of large beads and beads.

15. From white fabric, cut two meter-long sheets of 40 cm wide.

16. Finished fabrics, folded three times in length, are hemmed on the reverse side crowns.

17. Cover all edges of the frame with wide silver braid on both sides using a hot gun.

18. All that remains is to decorate crown.

19 The crown is ready.

Good day to all visitors to my page!
On the eve of the New Year, I would like to invite you to make such a kokoshnik with your own hands, because the Snow Maiden costume on this day is always relevant....
So, let's begin.....

For work we will need: Cardboard (I use old folders from binders. You will need 4-6 of them), rubber glue No. 88, PVA glue, a piece of guipure, tulle and silver braid.

We cut out the shape of a kokoshnik from a piece of paper - this will be our pattern. We adjust the pattern to the future Snow Maiden’s head, since everyone’s head size is different. Fitting is done by applying the pattern to the head and cutting off excess pieces from the pattern.

When the pattern is thoroughly prepared, fold it in half and draw a pattern for cutting. Leave some space for sticking the tape...

Cut out the pattern.... It turns out something similar. I want to warn you... There should be a minimum number of cut patterns in the center of the crown. Otherwise, the strength of the central part will be weakened and the crown will bend back.......
Then we glue together a “transformer” from three layers of cardboard folders, using rubber glue. We should end up with a pretty thick piece of cardboard. We cover it with white paper. Then we transfer our pattern onto it and cut it out. I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT WHEN TRANSLATING THE PATTERN WE DO NOT DRAW THE PATTERN

Then we cover our crown with guipure, using PVA glue. Only the front side is pasted over.

We put the pattern on the back side and draw the pattern......

And cut it out with nail scissors. I want to warn you that cutting out such thick cardboard is a long and painful task... We glue tulle on the back side of the crown so that the pattern is in a mesh
As a result, we get this......

Then we decorate the carona to our liking, using sparkles, sequins and silver braid. For the danglers I used curtain lace.

Now we need to make a mount with which the crown will stay firmly on the head and the Snow Maiden could safely jump not only like a bunny, but also jump like a saiga.....
To do this, we need to cut out a strip 2-3 cm wide from the thick cardboard left over from cutting the crown and stick it on the inside, at a level just above the eyebrows. To do this, we apply the crown to the head and use the fitting method to find a place for attachment. The rim should look something like this........

This photo shows the rim mount. Then we attach cardboard bows to the rim, with the help of which the crown will be attached to the back of the head. I put all the fastenings of the rim and arms with rubber glue and fasten them with a seam (I do this to make the work more durable).

This photo shows a pattern for a hat. We transfer it to satin and sew it on one side.....

Then on the back side of the crown we find the middle and attach the middle of the cap to the middle of the crown and glue it. We release the cap onto the front part of the rim.......

And from the inside of the rim we attach a cap........

We should have a design like this.......

During the New Year's party for children, parents have to seriously rack their brains over what kind of original costume to come up with for their child. Of course, many carnival outfits are sold in stores, but many parents rightly believe that it is much cheaper to make a costume yourself using materials found at home. How many wonderful outfits were made from fabrics lying around in the back of closets! After reading this article, you will learn two ways to make a kokoshnik quickly and easily with your own hands from the most ordinary cardboard, so that your little Russian beauty looks simply beautiful at the matinee.

So, you, like most parents, have decided to sew a costume for your daughter for the matinee yourself, all that remains is to decide which look to choose for your little beauty. It just so happens that girls at New Year's parties are usually dressed up as princesses, snowflakes and fairies. The costumes are certainly beautiful, but their ideas are quite banal. Much more interesting is the Snow Maiden costume, which can be much prettier and more interesting than the costume of any princess. Of course, the image of the granddaughter of Santa Claus will be incomplete without such a wonderful headdress as a kokoshnik.

We make a kokoshnik with our own hands from cardboard to complement the costume

So, you have already sewed a beautiful dress or fur coat, which is the main part of the costume for your daughter for the New Year's party. All that remains is to prepare the headdress, without which it is impossible to imagine the beautiful Snow Maiden - kokoshnik. So, to create the Snow Maiden’s kokoshnik you will need to acquire the following materials:

• Newspaper or plain thin paper of the desired size
• Fabric matching the color of the dress or fur coat
• Thread and needle
• Cardboard
• Beads, beads, ribbons and everything else suitable for decorating a kokoshnik
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Organza to match your suit color

So, let's start our master class on a kokoshnik, made with your own hands from ordinary cardboard for children. Before starting work, it is necessary to take measurements from the child’s head. Measurements must be made along the red lines shown in the figure below.
The size and shape of the kokoshnik is a matter of taste, but one should certainly take into account that if the child is still quite small, then a headdress that is too large may look ridiculous and will not fit well on the head. If suddenly you can’t decide what kind of kokoshnik to make for a doll or for your daughter, look at the selection of photos attached below.

After we have taken measurements and decided on the shape of the future product, we need to prepare a template. It is most convenient to cut it out of a newspaper folded in half so that the kokoshnik turns out symmetrical. For the master class, a rather simple, but no less beautiful form of kokoshnik was chosen.
Using a cardboard template, we cut out the base for our kokoshnik.

From the prepared fabric, using the resulting template, we make a pattern, not forgetting to leave small allowances for the seams. We lay the fabric on the cardboard and, bending the allowances, sew the edges along the perimeter from the inside. If you are going to make a kokoshnik of a very complex shape, you can do without allowances and simply glue the fabric to the cardboard.

We do all this from the outside of the product, bending the allowances inward and connecting them with a seam over the edge or a hidden seam. Again: if the shape of the kokoshnik you have chosen is too complex, with an abundance of corners and details, then just carefully glue the fabric to the cardboard.


We decorate the front side of our product. For the Snow Maiden costume, it is better to choose silver, blue or dark blue jewelry: beads, sparkles, various beautiful shiny “stones” made of plastic, rhinestones, if desired, you can decorate the edge of the kokoshnik with tinsel.
Using the template, we make a pattern from organza that matches the color of your suit, without making a cutout for the head.
We put organza on the inside of the kokoshnik and sew it on, bending the allowances and leaving the lower part free. That is, we sew only the side parts so that we can stick our head into the kokoshnik.


We bend the lower part of the organza, insert an elastic band there and sew it on so that the kokoshnik rests securely on the head.
If desired, you can sew ribbons to the finished kokoshnik: satin or organza. When decorating, feel free to experiment and use different decorations: beads, glass beads, lace, ribbons. You can purchase special paints for painting on fabric and decorate your kokoshnik with fancy patterns. You can watch other ways to create a kokoshnik from cardboard in the selection of videos below. We hope that the New Year tree will be memorable for your child, and that your little Snow Maiden or Russian beauty will be the most beautiful there!

Video on the topic of the article

The lesson on creating a kokoshnik from cardboard has come to an end, and at the end of the article we are attaching a number of video lessons on this topic.