There are things to love about early morning classes: Being on campus when it’s cool and quiet, starting your subject with a fresh outlook and that feeling of accomplishment to have part of your day’s schedule done before lunchtime. The downside? No time for a great hairstyle.
This cotton hairband is an easy and fast way to add a touch of style to your hair without taking time away from sleep or breakfast. It’s easily adjustable with a cute and functional buckle slide, without that headband headache.
The fabric used here is a quilter’s cotton. It comes in hundreds of color solids and prints such as flowers, dots, plaid, stripes and even fun novelty patterns like music notes and cupcakes.
Quilter’s cotton is cheap for small projects like this; the hairband I made cost 70 cents and I could get two of them out of one cut really, making it more like 35 cents. Not to mention the buckles are sold in packs of two. Best friend hairbands, anyone?
Alternately, you could make this with ribbon or lace trim, eliminating the need for all but one short seam to attach the buckle. Just be sure that it’s one inch or wider or the buckle will slide around and not fit snugly. Cruise the trim aisle at the fabric store for lots of different options.
The sewing here is done with regular sewing thread and needle. Take your time to make smooth, even stitches and be careful that everything lies flat by not tugging the thread too hard. The fabric will fray a little bit at the ends, adding a little roughness to the polished look.
One thing to remember about sewing with printed fabric is that there is a wrong side and a right side. The right side is the darker or brighter side, where the print is most clear and bold, while the wrong side is a faded mirror image.
You’ll need:
One-eighth yard cotton fabric
A 1 inch vest buckle (slide buckle)
Needle
Thread to match fabric
Project Steps:
1. Measure your head where a hair band would sit, about an inch back from your hairline and all the way around your head. If your measurement is 22 inches or smaller, proceed with the given dimensions. If it’s bigger than 22 inches, cut it 5 inches longer than your measurement, and if your head is 24 inches, then cut the fabric 29 inches.
2. Given dimensions: Cut a strip of fabric 25 inches long by 3 inches wide. Fold it in half lengthwise with the right sides facing out.
3. Cut a length of thread three times longer than your hair band. Wet one end of the thread in your mouth and push it through the eye of the needle. Bring this end down to meet the other end and knot both together several times to get a nice big knot. This is so it won’t go through the fabric when you start sewing. You should have ended up with a long piece of thread with the needle suspended in the middle.
4.Starting at one end, sew the cut edges of the fabric together to make a half-inch tube. Knot the thread around the last stitch. Cut thread and re-knot.
5. Slide the buckle onto one end of the tube. Pull about one inch through. Fold it around the center bar and sew the pulled-through end to the hair band just below the fold to secure the fabric around the buckle. Knot the thread around the last stitch and cut. Trim any long threads that may have unraveled from the edges.
To wear, pull the end of the hair band through the first gap of the buckle. Then push it down through the second gap, passing over the center bar. Pull until you get a nice snug fit.
