To complete our Dia de los Muertos inspired Halloween costume (see the sugar skull face paint tutorial here), we've adapted the traditional veiled flower garland headband associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. We wanted to create something still in keeping with the floral/lace theme, but a little more... subtle, perhaps? A hair piece that wouldn't have to remain confined to the dressing up box.

You will need:

• 2 bare barettes
• plastic flowers
• nylon thread
• a handsewing needle
• scrap of lace

Step 1

Thread your needle with the nylon thread and secure in a knot to one end of the barette.

Step 2

Start threading your needle through the base of the plastic flowers and continuing around the barette to secure them into place. When you get to the end, knot the thread as you did at the start. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the second barette.

Step 3

Take one corner of the lace and thread it through the arched bit in the barette and tie with a little knot. Repeat this with the other corner and other barette to create a veil that will sweep over the back of your hair and down your back. The beauty of this is that you will easily be able to remove the lace if you want to wear the flowered barettes by themselves later.

And that's all there is to it. A simple, pretty set of hair clips to complete the sugar skull look (and keep the hair out of your face paint at the same time!).

But what should I wear???

Channel 19th Century Latin America - corsets worn over frilly off the shoulder blouses; pantalettes or floor sweeping tulle skirts; reds, blacks or lingerie whites; oversized flower corsages and delicately embroidered shawls...

DIY Day of the Dead: Part 1 - The Face