I imagine you can leave the bottom bit intact, curving it where it has to meet your head's surface, and then make the insertions where they need to be. Presumably (of course I could be dead wrong about this) there'll be one large/larger jewel plunk dead-center, and then placing the other gems/jewels/stones symmetrically to either side wherever you need a certain amount of "stretch" in the top edge. The one drawback, if you see it as a drawback, is that the placement of the stones or gems relative to the amount of increased arc needed will be a determining factor in the design---but every medium and even every design has its limitations or boundaries. Rather than risking heating the banding, which is almost certain to have some curve to it anyway as it has almost certainly been stored on a huge spool, roll or tube, I'd try to carefully---and I really, truly do mean CAREFULLY (yes, that's meant to be loud)---make a series of tiny, shallow bends in the metal, again bending it to the shape of the head along the X and Y axes. I'm thinking you want a pair of pliers, probably needle-nosed, and some scrap leather to protect the metal even if the pliers are smooth instead of toothed.
Do tiaras have combs? (I hope so!) Would it be kosher, so to speak, to attach combs invisibly, maybe those clear plastic combs sewn inside bridal headdresses? ---Oops, never mind: I see you're already considering the use of a comb! Ought to have noted that, yesterday....
I'd try to talk to someone who knows something about metallurgy, specifically about brass, but my first and last vote would be to avoid heating the brass because metals can become very brittle when subjected to thermal stress, and metals can discolor (through and through) when subjected to thermal stress.
Is there any way you can either conceal the join when you complete the add-ins so it won't be tragic if they're not perfect, or else make a "binding" of brass wire (or brass-colored wire) look like part of the design? Could you mount the jewels/gems in findings so designed that they'll grab or clip the sides of the openings you'll be creating?
Eeh! Time for me to stop prattling on and on! I just think you won't need to cut the bottom portion of the banding at all; I believe it's unnecessary to detach the bottom completely; and I think if this were my project I'd rely on snipping and spreading, inserting the decorative elements into those snipped slits, and then either crimping them, tying/binding them, or riveting them in place, but I'm probably also thinking within my own limitations.
I'm really keen, now, to see both the finished tiara and if you have enough time to take them, in-progress photos, too?
no subject
I imagine you can leave the bottom bit intact, curving it where it has to meet your head's surface, and then make the insertions where they need to be. Presumably (of course I could be dead wrong about this) there'll be one large/larger jewel plunk dead-center, and then placing the other gems/jewels/stones symmetrically to either side wherever you need a certain amount of "stretch" in the top edge. The one drawback, if you see it as a drawback, is that the placement of the stones or gems relative to the amount of increased arc needed will be a determining factor in the design---but every medium and even every design has its limitations or boundaries.
Rather than risking heating the banding, which is almost certain to have some curve to it anyway as it has almost certainly been stored on a huge spool, roll or tube, I'd try to carefully---and I really, truly do mean CAREFULLY (yes, that's meant to be loud)---make a series of tiny, shallow bends in the metal, again bending it to the shape of the head along the X and Y axes. I'm thinking you want a pair of pliers, probably needle-nosed, and some scrap leather to protect the metal even if the pliers are smooth instead of toothed.
Do tiaras have combs? (I hope so!) Would it be kosher, so to speak, to attach combs invisibly, maybe those clear plastic combs sewn inside bridal headdresses? ---Oops, never mind: I see you're already considering the use of a comb! Ought to have noted that, yesterday....
I'd try to talk to someone who knows something about metallurgy, specifically about brass, but my first and last vote would be to avoid heating the brass because metals can become very brittle when subjected to thermal stress, and metals can discolor (through and through) when subjected to thermal stress.
Is there any way you can either conceal the join when you complete the add-ins so it won't be tragic if they're not perfect, or else make a "binding" of brass wire (or brass-colored wire) look like part of the design? Could you mount the jewels/gems in findings so designed that they'll grab or clip the sides of the openings you'll be creating?
Eeh! Time for me to stop prattling on and on!
I just think you won't need to cut the bottom portion of the banding at all; I believe it's unnecessary to detach the bottom completely; and I think if this were my project I'd rely on snipping and spreading, inserting the decorative elements into those snipped slits, and then either crimping them, tying/binding them, or riveting them in place, but I'm probably also thinking within my own limitations.
I'm really keen, now, to see both the finished tiara and if you have enough time to take them, in-progress photos, too?