Royal Melon Crown

I love melons! But I find the large amount of husk that goes in the food waste bin a little -well- wasteful! I also rather fancied a home-made crown headpiece to wear on my upcoming birthday. That’s why I thought a funky hat made from the inedible parts of a melon would be a suitable project for this contest!

In this Instructable, I’ll be be making a hat made out of melon husk, using minimal other materials. It’ll be fun, low-cost, and easy to do at home!

Crown materials:

1. A melon (honeydew is best).
2. A length of string.

Items used in construction:

1. Bucket of sand.
2. Scissors.
3. Spoon.
4. Drill and wood drill bit.
5. 2 sheets of plain paper.
6. A few heavy books.
7. Optional: crochet hook/tapestry needle.

I experimented with 2 different melons- a Honeydew (yellow) and a watermelon. I cut the honeydew before drying it, but I dried the watermelon before cutting it. I intended to find out which method -and which melon- produced the most successful results (more on this later!).

Here's a simple-step-by-step breakdown for how to prepare your melon, using a Honeydew:

1. Cut the melon into 4 equal-width sections.
2. Use a spoon to hollow out the melon- either eat it now, or refrigerate to enjoy later!
3. Cut the 2 end sections into 4 approximately equal triangles.
4. Cut the 2 middle sections into 4 approximately equal strips.
5. Dab the melon rind lightly to remove excess liquid with a paper towel.

Drying out the melon slices was the most lengthy part of the making process, although very easy. I had to find a way to allow the slices to dry slowly, without letting them rott!

1. Burry melon slices in sand and leave for a week to start drying. (Sand absorbs moisture and means your melon won't go mouldy!).
2. After a week, check on the slices and scrape off the sand.
3. Dry the slices out in the sun for a day (but watch out for birds- one flew off with some of mine!).
4. Squash the slices between pieces of scrap white paper with heavy books on top for a day (this will ensure they dry flat, and don't curl up).
5. Repeat the last 2 steps on alternating days for a week, or until melon slices feel dry and crisp. If you are not blessed with sunny weather, give the melon slices 10 seconds in a low power microwave, a minute to cool, then another 10 seconds, etc, until they are dry and crisp.

The last step- bringing it all together! I hope you enjoy wearing what you have made by the end of this tutorial!

1. Cut a piece of garden sting to length, so it fits around the circumference of the final wearer's head, with 10-20 cm extra on the end to make threading the slices easier.
2. Drill 2 holes in adjacent corners of each melon slice using an a drill bit designed for wood. Make sure the holes are far enough away from the edges that threading the string through them will not cause the holes to rip open, and ensure they are wide enough to easily fit your string through it.
3. Weave the string in and out of the holes, connecting melon slices together. Although you can try different combinations of slices, I thought alternating rectangular and triangular strips looked good. Tip: I found using a crochet hook to pull the string through the holes easier, or you could use a tapestry needle with a large eye, or simply Sellotape the end of the string to make it fit through the holes easier.
4. Once you're done, you can cut the melon slices into different shapes to complete the final took- I cut the longer strips in half to make the triangular slices stick up more, for example.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the result; it's a cool handmade headpiece suitable for showing off at the allotment or around the garden!

1. I like the fact I have reused something that would have otherwise ended up in the food waste- the rind of melon!
2. I also really like the unusual dragon-skin texture and vibrant colour of the melon pieces.
3. I am surprised by how easy it was to make without the need for any specialist equipment, once I had come up with a plan!

There was only one thing that went particularly wrong in this project- that is, the watermelon... Unfortunately the rind seemed to consist of a much higher proportion of water than the honeydew, so drying it out took longer. I left it 2 days too long, so when I next looked at it, it looked like something from out of a compost heap- not to wear on your head! I think the sand-drying technique was not suitable for the watery watermelon, and hence it started to go mouldy quickly (see picture above), even when it was treated in the same way as the honeydew... we live and learn!

Please check out the rest of my Instructables here: https://www.instructables.com/member/MistyPearl/