Shirts into Headbands

More than I love flower clips in my hair, I love headbands because they hold back my bangs. Bangs are cute, but they take patience. For the days I can't muster up enough patience for them, I throw on a headband. I used to have a wide variety, but some got lost, some borrowed, and some curiously snapped in half by the little hands of a three year old. I've got slim pickins' these days so I decided to make a few new ones... If you've got some tops laying around you never wear (Or a skirt, whatev.) and you like the print, why not use them for something you WILL use? (the fabric in the tutorial, I actually bought at Hobby Lobby with plans to use for another project, but I like it so much I decided to use a bit for this particular accessory. Can you blame me? It's too cute to NOT wear on your head.
I found this simple pattern on mmmcrafts.blogspot.com and used it as a guideline. [It's meant to be an interchangeable cover for a hard plastic headband, so cut it a little longer] First, You'll want to measure your head and make sure your fabric will be long enough. (Remember, there will be elastic meeting the ends together under your hairline). Fold your fabric in half and pin your pattern in place up against the edge of the fold like in the picture. (I left some extra room near the edge to make sure my elastic will be hidden) Then cut around the edges leaving about a half inch or so for the seam. You'll need to cut two of these. Open them up and make sure they are both the same size. You may need to do a little trimming around the edges. I like to get the cutting part out of the way and have them all ready for sewing...
Line up your fabric pieces facing each other and sew a tight seam down each side of the edges, leaving the ends open. (You'll connect it with elastic later) Make sure you double stitch (sew back & forth) when you get to each end. Then turn your headband inside out by pinning a safety pin in one side of the raw edge... ...and feed it down the center of the headband. It will scrunch up, but just fold the fabric over itself and keep feeding the pin through. Once the safety pin comes out the other end, pull the rest of the fabric rightside out. Make sure you don't tug on the safety pin too hard, it could rip your fabric.
Once your headband is turned out the right way... ...press it flat with an iron to make it easier for sewing around the edges.
Cut the appropriate length of elastic. [You can do this by safety pinning the elastic on, then try it on to see of it's too big or small. Adjust it to suit and pin in place so you can sew it on just right.] Once your elastic is in place, fold the raw edge of the fabric inside itself and double or triple stitch over the top of the edge like in the picture. Sewing the edges all the way around gives it a crisp, professional look. I love headbands Enjoy!

Easy Fabric Flower Hairclip

When I was in high school, before the flower hairclip fad, I loved to wear flowers in my hair. My husband said when he first met me, he thought, "what's with the flower?" {he loved it though} Ha! Now, they are totally in and I love them even more. (so does he :) My friends, Chelsea & Alyssa, came over to make some hair accessories. Chelsea brought over lots of lovely fabric to choose from, along with clips, buttons, and an array of all the different flowers she had made. Crafting is more fun with friends! Start by cutting a long strip of fabric. Then fold it over lengthwise (exposing the front print of the fabric) and sew the loosest seam possible with your machine along the edge. Make sure to leave a long tail of thread on each end for pulling. If you carefully pull one of the threads, it will easily scrunch up (make sure the other end of the thread doesn't come out). You can also sew along the edge by hand, but this method is quicker. Once you get the amount of scrunch you want, start slowing wrapping the fabric around itself while hand sewing it all in place. Remember to keep the ugly seam hidden. Once you get to the end of the fabric strip, pull the thread snug, tie it in a knot, and trim it. Cut a small piece of felt (round or square, doesn't matter) and hot glue it to the back of the flower. Make sure the felt is the right size before gluing. It's also less of a mess if you put the hot glue on the felt, then stick it to the flower instead of vice versa. Hot glue on a clip and... ...Vwalla! a pretty lil' hair accessory.
Love your braid, Alyssa. So lovely.