Headbands are an easy and stylish way to keep hair away from your face, and any beginner can create them! Plus, headbands provide an opportunity to use up those scraps of woven fabric that have accumulated.
This tutorial will show you how to make a headband with easy!
Choose Your Fabric
Headbands are a fantastic accessory for those who want to keep their locks back, or simply tame it. Not only can it add some flair to any outfit or make the perfect present – headbands also make easy sewing projects and provide great ways to use scraps of knit or jersey fabric! Headbands are especially helpful for athletes and workout enthusiasts, providing quick solutions to messy or wild locks!
Knit fabric that offers excellent stretch, such as spandex, is ideal for creating headbands. It sits comfortably against your skin while helping wick away sweat as you sweat – plus its easily washable nature is important when wearing it all day long! Woven cotton or polyester fabrics may not offer as much stretch.
If you don’t have stretchy fabric on hand, you can still create a headband from regular fabric by sewing elastic to one end of it. This will add extra stretch while helping it remain on your head more securely; just be careful not to stretch the fabric too much when stitching together or you could risk breaking your needle and ruining the headband!
This high-quality double brushed poly fabric is an excellent option for your DIY headband project. Lightweight and drapey, it has undergone two rounds of brushing to achieve ultra-softness while remaining highly stretchy and boasting beautiful prints that will look fantastic when used to craft DIY headbands.
Measure Your Head
Headbands can be an essential accessory for children, keeping hair out of their eyes when playing and running around. Women of all ages – from babies and toddlers through teens and adults – can wear them, making this accessory both versatile and fashionable. You can easily make one yourself, from basic knit designs or embellishing it further with features for an eye-catching finish!
As the first step of creating a headband, determining your own circumference requires using a tape measure and making sure it fits snug but not tight. If making one for someone else it’s essential that their exact head circumference be measured for best fit – otherwise use a general head size chart as an approximate guideline to find their size headband size.
To account for fabric stretch, it’s advisable to make your headband one to two inches smaller than its measured head circumference in order to ensure comfort no matter how much your child or recipient may grow. This way, no matter their future growth.
If you want to add a flower to your headband, start by creating a foundation ring using hdc stitches, followed by chaining two and sl sting in the top of ch 2. This will form your flower center. When finished creating it, sew the bloom onto your headband – pinch the middle for added femininity by pinching its center or pinching out to form a faux bow! When completed, wear your stretchy and soft material headband while enjoying its comfort as a piece of personalized jewelry made just for you!
Cut Your Fabric
Make a headband using any knit fabric you have lying around – I prefer something stretchy that can hug my head while still having some give, so it doesn’t feel too tight around my ears. Additionally, ensure it has good recovery – that means it will snap back into shape once worn again!
Start by cutting your fabric into a rectangle, ensuring the stretch runs along one of its long edges. Adjust its width accordingly based on how comfortable and thick you want your headband to feel.
Fold your headband piece in half with right sides together, with right sides together and right stitches, right sides out, leaving one long edge open for turning. I used a narrow zig-zag stitch, but you may prefer another type. Don’t forget to backstitch at both the beginning and end of your seam!
Once finished, turn your headband right side out and press it flat with an iron. Sew over its opening by hand or with your machine before trimming corners as necessary.
Now you can add a bow or twisted loop to your headband if desired. To do this, fold your fabric piece with its stretch facing down, matching up two short ends, pin them together, pin again with pins at right angles to each other, pin again at each short end, sew them with a zig-zag stitch (you could also use a serger). When this step is complete you can make a little ring or loop by clipping and folding back the end. Afterward, slide a piece of elastic into this little ring to create an adjustable headband!
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Cut Your Elastic
Before cutting elastic, ensure it is the appropriate length. This will prevent the headband from stretching out of shape once finished, so if unsure of where to cut, try wrapping elastic around your child’s head and measuring. This way you’ll obtain accurate measurements that ensure your finished headband fits snugly and looks its best!
To cut elastic, first fold it in half with right sides together so that the ‘right sides’ of fabric are touching each other. Sew along one open edge using a 3/8” stitch length allowance; backstitch at both the beginning and end for extra security! Trim off any excess elastic. Now use your new piece of elastic to sew your headband!
For your bow, cut two rectangles of fabric measuring 7” x 5.5”. Once cut, pin together and sew using stretch stitch or small zig-zag stitch with jersey needle or ballpoint needle with rounded tip that won’t harm fabric.
Once you’ve sewn the bow, the next step will be turning it right side out. To do this, use either a tube turner, safety pin, or simply by hand. After turning your headband inside out, fold in any raw edges to enclose them and make a neat finish.
To finish off your headband, take one piece of the flannel that you have been working with and fold it so that its long edges match up. Insert one end of your elastic into this folded piece so it aligns with one of the ends on either end; stitch along this line close to the edge.
Sew Your Headband
Add an elegant flair to any headband with an embellishment as simple or elaborate as desired by adding a bow. It can be done simply or extravagantly; hot glue works just as easily if used carefully; beads or flowers may also add the perfect finishing touches, provided they’re suitable for your child.
If this is your first time making a headband, start by sketching out a template on paper using your middle thickness measurement as a starting point and marking each end with marks for cutting. Once complete, cut it out and pin it onto fabric.
Step two involves sewing along the long edges of your headband, leaving a 2-in gap near one end. You have several sewing methods at your disposal: hand stitching or serger. If sewing by hand, be sure to backstitch when starting and stopping; once finished sewing trim the seam allowance before turning right side out and folding in short ends.
Make a twisted headband! All it requires is some fabric that is nonstretchy – medium-weight cotton is often ideal. Cut two rectangles that measure equal length as your headband piece and pin their long edges together before sewing along them using either zigzag stitch or serger with backstitching at every start and stop point.
Once your headband has been sewn together, fold in its edges and sew them closed for a more polished look. Hemming is also optional. Finally, complete your headband by embellishing it with beautiful brooches, fabric appliques or groupings of feathers for an additional flair!
