Runner’s Headband Tutorial

Hi, Today I would like to share my first attempt at a crafting tutorial. My Daughter showed me some ideas of knit headbands that she liked and asked if I thought we could recreate them. Here is two versions of what she calls a Runner’s Headband. One is made from recycling or upcycling a t-shirt and the other version we bought 1/4 yards of various flannel plaid fabrics.

Here are our different versions.

We took a striped t-shirt and my Daughter inlaw who has a vinyl business created a design for my daughter with clip art of an Angus bull and our family’s cattle brand. On the flannel plaid headbands, my daughter used Hotfix rhinestones to create a blinged out version of our family’s cattle brand.

Here are some instructions on how we came up with our headbands:

We measured around her head to the back of her ears (probably a good inch behind both ears). Her measurement was 17 inches. This measurement can be changed to child, teen or adult sized needs very easily.

We decided on a strip 5 inches wide by the 17 inches. Cut one of the decorated t shirt or flannel (or other fabrics) and we cut a lining the same size of 5 inches by 17 inches from a scrap of black/or gray t shirt knit (can be any color you have or like since it should not show).

I sewed the flannel or t shirt strip to the knit lining with a half inch seam allowance into a tube. Turned right side out and pressed the tube. If you are making for a child, you may not want or need the 5 inch width. Depends on what fullness you want your finished headband.

We now took the finished tube and held up to her head to determine what we needed for elastic to finish to size. I used 2 inch wide black elastic. If you are using a stretchy t shirt knit, you will not need as much elastic. We used a 2.5 inch piece on the upcycled t shirt head band. But on the non stretchy flannel headband we needed 6 inches of elastic. I had started with upwards of 7 inches of elastic for the first flannel headband and it took a couple sewing revisions to get the proper size of where she wanted to wear her headband.

Here is how I attached the elastic. I just did a simple hand pleating to pleat the five inches down to the 2 inches width of the elastic and sewed the headband tube to the elastic with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Here is the finished inside of the flannel headbands.

Here is the backsides of all our completed headbands. My daughter likes the fit of the knit t shirt headband but likes the warmth of the flannel headbands. It has taken a bit longer to ensure proper fit of the flannel headbands. We would like to try out making the headbands in polar fleece backed with t shirt knit for colder weather when she helps with cattle chores. I would think that a polar fleece version would need somewhere between the two version’s elastic amounts since polar fleece is not quite as stretchy as t shirt knit.

We hope that you will consider giving our headband tutorial a try. We think the design has a lot of ways to be changed or personalized by changing the fabric choices. Use a favorite decorated t shirt that has been outgrown. A plain knit or woven fabric could be decorated with embroidery stitches by hand or machine. Hot fix rhinestones or if you still have a Bedazzler, you can make a blinged out version. Sweatshirt or polar fleece, maybe even a nice wool upcycled from other clothing. Just cut your fabric bands to your head measurements and then all it will take is adjusting the elastic amount you need to make the headband fit properly.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. I will be sharing this tutorial on various linky parties that I attend weekly.

Update February 2015, linking up with Tips and Tutorials Tuesday

Happy Sewing,

Shelley