Braided Headbands

In case you missed it a few weeks back, here is the tutorial for braided headbands I made up for a guest post at A Lemon Squeezy Home. 

 

I have a huge head, seriously.  It's bigger than my husband's, who outweighs me by 70-60lbs and is taller than me by 7 inches.  HUGE! (I had a friend once sweetly tell me, totally out of the blue, it must be nice to have such a big head because it gave my hair a naturally full look.  I about peed my pants laughing.  But, hey, silver lining!)  I can wear these headbands all day without feeling like a vise is being tightened around my skull.  And they're crazy easy to make, so go whip up a few for youself or a huge-headed loved one.

BRAIDED HEADBANDS

Basic Single

To make a single braided headband, you’ll need

-three coordinating fabrics
-1/4 inch braided elastic
-Grosgrain ribbon

1. Begin by cutting three strips 2” * 22”

2. Fold each strip in half, along the length, right sides together.  Sew a straight line the length of the strip along the raw edge, keeping either end open

3. Repeat for all three strips

4. Turn each sewn strip/tube to the right side

5. Take all three strips, stack and bartack/closely zig-zag stitch at one end

6. Now take a big ol’ safety pin and pin the stacked strips to the knee of your holey jeans

 

7. And start to braid

 

8. Finish the braid by stitching another bartack/close zig-zag at the end

 
9. So now you’ll have a fun little braid.

10. Cut a strip of elastic apox. 7 inches long (probably a good idea to measure against the head of the person who’ll wear the headband…)

11. Bartack/closely zig-zag either end of the elastic to either end of the braid.  NOTE: be sure to make sure neither the elastic nor the braid is twisted when you do this

 

12. Now cut two strips of ribbon.  The picture shows about 7 inches, you shouldn’t need more than about 3 inches at most

13. Secure the ribbon over the sewn elastic/braid end

14. Wrap around and stitch in place

And that’s it.

Basic Double

     

To make a double braided headband, you’ll need
-three coordinating fabrics
-1/4 inch braided elastic
-Grosgrain ribbon

1. Begin by cutting six strips 2” * 22”

2. Fold each strip in half, along the length, right sides together.  Sew a straight line the length of the strip along the raw edge, keeping either end open

3. Repeat for all three strips

4. Turn each sewn strip/tube to the right side

5. Taking three strips at a time, stack and bartack/closely zig-zag stitch at one end, so that you have two sets of three-stacked strips

6. Now take a big ol’ safety pin and pin the stacked strips to the knee of your holey jeans

7. And start to braid

8. Finish the braid by stiching another bartack/close zig-zag at the end

Repeat with other stacked strips.

9. Cut a strip of elastic apox. 7 inches long (probably a good idea to measure against the head of the person who’ll wear the headband…)

10.Take both braids and stack them. 
Bartack/closely zig-zag either end of the elastic to either end of the braid. 


NOTE: be sure to make sure neither the elastic nor the braid is twisted when you do this

11. Now cut two strips of ribbon.  The picture shows about 7 inches, you shouldn’t need more than about 3 inches at most

12. Secure the ribbon over the sewn elastic/braid end

13. Wrap around and stitch in place

And that’s it.

          

            

Frayed Single

So let’s shake it up now and fray the strips.

Materials:
-three coordinating fabrics
-1/4 inch braided elastic
-Grosgrain ribbon

Same as for the basic single, cut three strips, one of each fabric, 2” * 22” long

Now, cut each strip in half, along the length.  So now you have six one-inch wide strips

Take two strips, wrong sides together, sew a straight stitch down the length of either side

Repeat for all six strips/three fabrics

Now toss them in the wash.  I was doing laundry anyway, so these just went in with a regular load.

After drying, they’re going to be a bit of a mess.  So cut off all the strings and the excess fray, but leave a nice, soft frayed edge

Follow the same steps as Basic Single Braided Headband, starting at Step 5

 

   

Frayed Double

Materials:

-three coordinating fabrics
-1/4 inch braided elastic
-Grosgrain ribbon

Same as for the basic double, cut six strips, one of each fabric, 2” * 22” long

Now, cut each strip in half, along the length.  So now you have 12 one-inch wide strips

Take two strips, wrong sides together, sew a straight stitch down the length of either side

Repeat for all 12 strips/three fabrics

Now toss them in the wash.  I was doing laundry anyway, so these just went in with a regular load.

After drying, they’re going to be a bit of a mess.  So cut off all the strings and the excess fray, but leave a nice, soft frayed edge

Follow the same steps as Basic Double Braided Headband, starting at Step 5

  

So there you go, four super easy headbands from scraps and strips