Easy DIY Georgian and Victorian Watch Fob: Historical Accessory Tutorial

I’ve got Fobs that jingle-jangle-jingle as I go walking merrily along…

Back in ye olden days (aka 2014), I attended a very chilly Georgian Picnic with my husband, Chris.

To dress up our outfits, I made him a simple Regency fob/watch string and I wore a portrait miniature of him on a fob of my own. Since then, I’ve made lots of such fobs for costuming purposes. They are great for displaying watches, trinkets, miniatures, jewels, and more for 18th and 19th century costumes.

Photo by Decor to Adore

For Laura’s Napoleon and Josephine Tea, I wore Christopher’s miniature portrait again and got a few requests for a tutorial on making one.

In addition, I found an original man’s fob from the 1880s, and I just recently got a few pocket watches from my grandma, so I have proper watches to use as examples!

Two of the watches are pretty recent, but the rose gold one is circa 1900-1920. Only one of them runs (the big one), but since I carry around a cellphone, I don’t really need the watches to function so much as look the part!

This is the oldest of the watches and the Victorian ribbon fob I found.

Before purchasing your supplies, consider who will be wearing the fob and what they will be putting on the fob. For example:
An 18th century man has a fob pocket on his breeches under a long waistcoat. He would tuck his expensive watch in the pocket attached to a highly decorated watch string long enough to show from under his waistcoat.
A Regency man will have a fob with a watch on one end and trinkets like tassels, watch key, seals, etc. on the other. He wears his watch tucked into his fob pocket with the ribbon hanging out over his breeches, displaying the accessories. You’ll want to buy a few charms to gussy-up the end of your fob!
A Victorian man, on the other hand, may keep his watch in a vest pocket with the watch on one end and only a bar on the other end to secure the fob to a buttonhole or he might keep a very short ribbon fob with a charm on the other end to dangle out of his pocket. This is a great opportunity to use silk ribbon, display some embroidery, or add an initials charm (like my antique example)
A Regency lady will wear her watch on one end and pin the other end to her dress or drape it over a sash, displaying the watch out in the open.
This method also works well for making chatelaines, equipages, or simply displaying a hanging pendant. Get creative!

– SUPPLIES –

– Ribbon Findings (I used 22mm ones, ordered from Etsy)
– Ribbon (I used 1 inch wide velvet ribbon from Hobby Lobby)
– Jump Rings
– Hoop/Bar, Lobster, or Spring Ring Clasps
– Needle Nose Pliers
-Scissors
– Watch, charms, miniatures, etc. to hang
– Pin/Brooch *optional
– Chain *optional

– MAKING THE FOB BASE –

Cut your ribbon to a comfortable length. If find 3-4 inches to be a good length for Regency fobs. 8-10 inches, if you want to secure it by looping it over a sash or if a gent needs it to reach from their waistcoat buttons to side pocket.  Keep in mind that your watch and the clasp will add extra length. If it helps, you may wish to use a flexible tailor’s measuring tape to “drape” on your outfit to get a measurement goal (for example, from a vest buttonhole to the watch pocket).

Next, place the ribbon clasp finding over the end of the ribbon. Then use the pliers to gently chomp the alligator teeth down onto the ribbon. Don’t use too much force or you’ll flatten them! They need to bite the ribbon firmly to hold it in place. Repeat with the other end of the ribbon.

If you have a ribbon wider than your findings, don’t fret! You can get a nice effect by folding the edges of the ribbon in the back so it fits.

– CHOOSE YOUR CLASP CONFIGURATION –

Depending on how you plan to wear your fob, there are a few options for which clasps to use. For example, the Victorian original has two types of clasps on it: a spring ring clasp and a pinch clasp.

Here are some other configuration options:

Loop and Bar/Toggle Clasp. The loop works great if you want to hang multiple things from the fob. Add lobster clasps to your suite of accessories to make them easy to clip on or remove at your leisure (or, for a more permanent attachment, use large jump rings to attach your accessories directly to the loop). Plus, there are tons of fancy designs to choose from, like heart shaped or twisted wire ones. The bar, if not used to secure the fob to a buttonhole, can easy be folded

Bar and Lobster/Pinch Clasp. Allows for easily taking a singular watch/accessory on and off. If you make your fob like this, you don’t have to add clasps to all your accessories or break out the pliers to remove jump rings every time you want to change out the watch.

Brooch and Clasp. For ladies, brooches are a great option for securing your fob to a waistline. Why use a plain sewing pin when you can jazz it up with a cool antique piece? Take those old jewels out for a spin! Many Victorian brooches have a safety chain on them. If yours does, simply use a jump ring to attach your fob to the loop! Otherwise, simply pin the fob on directly through the ribbon.
A less practical method is to add a small length of chain to slide through the pin of the brooch. This method is tedious to put on (you must nip the pin through your dress, thread on the chain, then nip the pin through your dress fabric again before securing it), but if you are using a ribbon you don’t want to put pin holes in, it’s a viable option.

Once you’ve got all that sorted, just pick out a watch or some charms you like and get your hoity-toity swagger on!

For a more in-depth examination of the history behind fobs/watch strings check out one of my other blog posts:

Keeping Track of Time: Georgian Watch Chains, Equipages, Fobs, and Chatelaines

Make Your Own: Mid-19th Century Headdress

A Simple, Illustrated Guide

During the 1840s and 1850s, hairstyles covered the ears and usually had hanging braids or curls that puffed out around the face while a bun secured the rest of the hair behind– admittedly, not the most flattering look. However, ladies would dress up their hair for special occasions with beautiful flowery, feathery, and beaded headdresses like this:

It’s a magical 180° flip! The addition of the pretty falls makes weird hair gorgeous! They make ballgowns look complete and make day dresses look romantic. Mid-19th century headdresses are really easy to make and fun to wear, too.

Time to make your own!

This is the set of falls from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston that inspired me. They have a whole collection of headdresses from this time period all made from different materials and in different styles. I adore flowers, but you can also use ribbons and beads to dress up your falls.

Materials

Faux Flowers
Metal Headband(s)
Green Floral Tape
Wire Cutters
Exacto Knife

I got all my materials from the local Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree. All together, I spent less than $15 on materials and had enough supplies to make three sets of falls!

Step 1: Trim your flower stems to a workable length (4-8 inches long)

Faux flowers vary widely in style. In my case, I chose some cute paper blossoms attached in a bunch on the end of a long stem. I had to remove the big stem to get to the individual flowers. You want to keep the stems of your flowers long enough to attach to the headband. Depending on the stem, 4 to 8 inches usually works well.

Step 2: Decide how you want your falls to hang.

The first flower is always the hardest! I wanted my falls to be medium length– barely long enough to reach the neck, like the original set. The best way to figure out how long you want yours to hang is to put on the headband and hold a stem up to the band until you find the length you want. Wrap the wire stem around the headband and use floral tape to secure the entire length of the stem, making sure to cover the end of the wire. The worst thing is wearing your falls to a dance and getting poked with stray wires all night!

Step 3: Add more stems until you reach the fullness you want.

Add the next stem over the tape and wrap it up as well. You can set your flowers as close together as you like. You can mix flower types and foliage to create more texture. I found a long, leafy stem softened the look of the crisp paper flowers. To attach this kind of stem, cut it to the length you want, then carefully attach it to the headband, maneuvering the tape around the leaves so they don’t get taped down.

Step 4: Once you reach the desired fullness, repeat on the other side.

Your falls can be symmetrical or not. Either way is historically accurate. If you like, you can make your flowers go all the way around the top of the head as well. Queen Victoria wore a hair wreath for her wedding that went all the way around her head instead of just falling at the sides.

Step 5: You’re done!

Taadaa! Here’s my completed headdress! :)

I decided to connect the two sides by wrapping the top of the headband with floral tape. Much more comfortable!

How to Wear Your Headdress

The best way to wear your headdress is with a period hairstyle. Since my hair is currently a little too short to properly style a la 1840s, my gracious sister, Minnie, allowed me to muddle up her hair for a photoshoot!

This is the style we chose for her hair since her locks are very fine and don’t hold curl very well:

The placement of your falls really depends on how you designed them, the hairstyle you choose, and what feels comfortable. It’s historically accurate to wear them behind or in front of the ears. At first she wore the falls behind her ears, but she decided that wearing them in front of her ears was much more comfortable in the long run and more readily displayed the pretty flowers!

Alternative Styles

You can adapt you falls for many different eras, and occasions! I have made a full version a few years ago for my Dia de los Muertos celebration headdress.

You can also wear both the fall-style and wreaths to make beautiful Edwardian costumes, especially Art Nouveau and Japonisme-inspired gowns. Nothing accents nymph-like beauty like lovely blossoms twining through your hair!

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Learn more about mid-19th Century Headdresses here!

As with all my articles, all of the images in this article are either linked to larger versions, articles explaining them, or other fact-filled sites to help you explore, so please feel free to check them out!

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UPDATE!

Just found this 1840s painting featuring a very full lace headdress: