Headband post #2
Headband post #3
It started with a visit to a combination craft show, garage sale, flea market (massive in three huge buildings).
We found a headband stand.
I didn't buy one with the intention of using it for a pattern. Instead I bought one for middle (she was with me).
And then later in the day, I said - maybe we should have bought more.
And middle replied - They were expensive, I looked at how they did it, we can make them easily.
When I took a good look at it, I said - I can make them a lot easier than the way they did it.
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| This is the one we bought. |
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| How they made it was to turn the edges under once, stitching as they went, and then turn the edges under again, top stitching. |
What I did was to make a pattern from theirs, out of felt. The pattern was the finished size of the headband, NO seam allowance.
I pinned the felt pattern down the center of the right side of the fabric I was using.
Then I used the felt pattern as a guide in my serger. The serger finishes the edge of the fabric and cuts off the excess fabric as it sews.
Fresh from the serger, this picture shows the headband with the finished edges and seam allowance.
Next step was to remove the felt pattern.
Then I put the headband in the regular sewing machine and turned the edges under, top stitching as I went. I have been sewing for a long time. I did not need a pattern or basting to turn the edges under evenly. I just free handed it as I went. A hint is if you are stopping to adjust the fabric or turn edge under, always stop with the needle DOWN so the headband does not get pulled out of allignment.
This picture shows the wrong side of the finished headband.
Here is a close up of the wrong side.
These headbands are tied at the back of the neck. That is why the pattern gets thinner at the ends. That is also why the headbands are only one thickness of fabric and not doubled, it is easier to tie.
I put trim/ribbon on some of the headbands. To keep the ends easy to tie, the trim/ribbon does not go all the way to the end of the ties. I cut the ribbon at 18" and the length of the finished headband is 31". I did not turn the edge of the ribbon under on the raw ends. Instead, I cut the raw end with pinking shears (helps prevent fraying) and then used a zigzag stitch on those raw ends reversing several times (going back and forth over it several times).
Middle took all of these pictures (below) for you. She folded each headband so it is the way it looks on someone's head.
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| Original is in this picture with the rose on it. |
The majority of the fabric strips were in a bin, leftovers from a long ago quilt. I had a lot of ribbon in a box. So the majority of the headbands show were made from my sewing/quilting/crafts stock pile. I did buy a few things to match with orphans (had ribbon I loved, needed fabric to match OR had fabric but wanted ribbon for it.).
