Wednesday, January 26, 2011

braided headbands

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I am STILL growing my hair out and while I have surpassed the really difficult stage, it seems I am always one bad hair day away from shaving my head. I've done it before and could do it again- once you know how easy it is to have short hair or very little hair, it is SO tempting to go back. That is why having lots of hair accessories on hand is a MUST!


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I have a variety of ways that I like to pull my hair back and lately I've been having fun making my own braided headbands. They are really easy to make and super cute to wear on a bad hair day :)


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Start with a blank headband or even upcycle one that you are ok covering up.

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Using fabric (pretty much anything), cut into strips a little longer than the headband and braid the strips.
I used a thin and stretchy jersey fabric.


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Using craft glue or hot glue, wrap the headband with a strip of the same fabric.


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Glue the braid to the top of the wrapped headband.


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You could use just about any kind of fabric, fiber, lace, ribbon, etc to braid


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and even combine materials.


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Upcycled fabric is also great to use.
This was fabric from an old shirt that I was going to donate



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If you don't have a headband or if they hurt your head- simple turn the braided fabric into a headband by sewing both ends together.

This one was made from upcycled stretch jersey.

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And there you have it- cute headbands to make you forget about those bad hair days!

86 comments:

Single Stone Studios said...

The bright pink is so pretty in your dark hair. Love these.

Annie said...

Wow!! So cute. =) I might just have to make a few of these.
Many blessings,
Annie

Jessica said...

I LOVE these!! They are adorable and I think I'll try to make some! :)

noell said...

That's super cute! I want to make some with my daughter!

I love the way you wear your hair up in accessories, but have you talked to your hair dresser about cutting your hair to work with growing it out? I've gone from boy-short to long and I've never had to endure a "growing my hair out" phase because my amazing hair stylist always gave me great style while I transitioned to long.

I've come to believe there is no need for that in-between stage!

Arielle said...

Super cute headbands and gorgeous modeling photos, Alisa! :) Thanks for the easy-to-understand tutorial!

Janie Husband said...

fabulous......and great tutorial.... thanks again for the inspiration... ;)

debi said...

Those are just adorable! It took me 3 years to grow my hair out, until I finally found someone who actually let it grow as she was trimming it. Your hair is really cute, though!!!

Aja Reeser said...

amen sister! i am growing out my hair after 3.5 years of shaved-head glory. i like my hair either ridiculously long or none at all, so all this in between crap is driving me nuts! thanks for another great tutorial!!

Tifani said...

Thanks for this great idea! I am learning to sew and need something fun to do with the scraps.

sharon. said...

A- I am SO glad I found your blog. I absolutely love it.
B- I can't wait to make one of these babies. I just got a perm thinking I could get some loose, beach curls and it is HORRIBLE. Head bands for the next few months for me :)

thefirstlady said...

Very pretty! I love your creativity.

Jenny Stevning said...

OH MAN! These are so cute! Gotta give it a try!

Anonymous said...

These are so cute and easy! Thank you for sharing! :)

Megan Warren said...

Great idea! I might have to make some I'm growing my hair out too!

ColourFly said...

This is a cool idea! Thanks for sharing!!!

Sabine

giveto said...

really beautifull!!

Sandra Die Nischenkönigin said...

Your "braided headbands" are really lovely and cute. I´m sure my daughter will love them and we´ll try to make "braided headbands" on our own. Thanks for the great idea:-)

la.daridari said...

I was going to cut my hair just this evening... but I think I can procrastinate after this post. Great idea, thank you!
Daria

Cynthia Devening said...

Very cute. I love headbands, but they always seem to slip right out of my hair and down to the floor!

Jill said...

Too cute. I wish my good hair days looked as good as your bad hair days! This would be fun for my little girls' hair too!

Gina said...

Great idea and all so cute!

Rachel M said...

Love those! :)

Patty S said...

i've been growing out my hair, too. i've had bangs my whole life (i'm 42) and i finally decided to go for a change. i'm still at the awkward 'i need a barrette/clip/headband' stage and your idea is sooooo fun and cute!
thanks for the great idea! and good luck with your hair adventure! (i really think once mine grows out i'll end up doing something else i've never done - get it all cut off - really short - pixie-ish!) :-)

lynda Howells said...

love these..thanks for sharingxxlynda

Ariadne said...

You are so smart!
smart=clever and smart=elegant!
AriadnefromGreece!

Cassie Shella said...

Oh I'm so making these for my girls! Thank you so much. I myself have very short hair, attempted to grow it out last summer - couldn't do it! Have a great week:)

Jenny said...

Seriously...your hair is always so adorable. Is it naturally curly? Because as much as I hate perms I think I may have to break down and get the "Alisa" :)

Lisa Chin said...

You have the perfect hair for these headbands. So curly and beautiful. I'm sure my teenage daughters would love these headbands too. I will have to make a few.

MODERN Prairie Girl said...

I love that you're growing out your hair...just think of all of the fun artsy hair accessory-making finds you will come up with :)

I am Queen of the Headband myself...I sometimes find myself at Claire's lurking among the tweens lookin' for hair flowers!
Lara

Selena Eon said...

I've been making a similar design-- fabric only, no headband base. Instead of sewing the ends together, i find the headband fits much better if I stitch a 2-3" elastic remnant at the back- width depending on the braid you are using. :)

The Modern Lady said...

These are adorable. I just bought a stack of plastic headbands at Hobby Lobby because they were 50% off and wondered what I would do with them. This is an excellent idea!

Mommafo said...

Wow. Your hair is so cute! Is it naturally curly? I have had short hair my whole life, and it's kinda wavy, I wish my hair was like yours. :)

Marisa said...

Very cute! I, uh, tried to add some layers to my curly hair by myself. I'm now in need of a few headbands. ;)

Teddi said...

how freakin cool is this? VERY

Karen Y said...

Love these headbands. Can't wait to make a few of my own in the near future once I find some headbands.

Rachel said...

Those are all so pretty Alisa! Thanks for the great idea, I'll be linking.

Anonymous said...

I have many of those bad hair days! I am for sure going to try this! Love them, btw!!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

This is so simple, I love it! Thanks!!

xo

melissa said...

These are super cute, and I've got SO many sewing scraps to use up!

But I heartily disagree with short hair being easy - ugh, it takes forever to style short hair, and it demands so much product to get to to do what you want! I had long hair for years before chemo put paid to that 18 months ago, and I'm still growing it out (hence the need for more headbands, as my hair is now long enough to get in my eyes, but not enough to go behind my ears!).

Gretchen Haselden said...

Thank you do much for posting! I found your blog from a magazine...your creativity is contagious! I am going to try the headbands & yummy donut things! :)

Anonymous said...

These are too cute, my grand daugther will love these. I am going to mke her a couple today.

Liz said...

These are great. We featured you on our blog ziggycrafts.blogspot.com Thanks for sharing!! I can't wait to get started on mine.

Halley said...

Stupendous!
I'm definitely going to make these and link back to you!

My hair is deviously unruly so this'll be great. Thank you!

Mary said...

SUPER cute. . I absolutely love it!!
Where do you get your headbands??

Amy said...

SOOO cute! Thanks for sharing! I wear scrubs to work, and my hair back in a pony-- this will jazz up my look with little to no effort. A busy gal like me loves that! ;)

Amy

Team Chastain said...

Totally making some of these!! Newest follower :)

Tania said...

thanks for sharing - such a lovely idea!!!

Unknown said...

it looks really pretty!i love the fabrics and the colors!thanks for the tutorial! :-)

Alberta said...

Very creative and chic too!

Terri said...

Brilliant idea, I assuume there are 2 strips of fabric than braid them, question, how do you keep the ends from unbraiding?

the PaperCraftLady on Etsy said...

Well, Alisa, great minds think alike, I guess!! I have been going through the same challenges as you trying to grow my hair out (but it doesn't look anywhere near as good as yours!!!)

HONESTLY, this morning when I was about to wash my face, I realized I should do something with my hair first so that I didn't have to fight to keep it out of my face with wet, soapy hands!! I just so happed to be reusing 3 t-shirts over the weekend with a different craft project so I cut the bottom hem off of each and braided them together (I tell you no lie!). I tied the ends together but I am now going to try to find some blank headbands like you suggested!

Thanks so much for the tip!!

arlsmom aka Lynda said...

Fabulous idea...and I'm at that same growing out stage with my bangs....somedays I think I'll just go get them cut...new headbands may be just the trick!

Theresa @ Just Call Me "T" said...

what a great idea... they are super cute! Thanks for sharing. :D

-newest follower, T

Heather - dollarstorecrafts said...

This is so fun, Alisa. I need a few of these. I'm linking tomorrow at Dollar Store Crafts.

Will you be at CHA?

lisa bee said...

i have the same kind of hair. i feel your pain!

Erma B. said...

I love these! I have to go to the dollar store to get some headbands ASAP. :)

K from MFTA said...

I agree with all of the comments. These are really cool and really resourceful! Love them so much I featured it on our Materials for the Arts (MFTA) blog.
check it out> http://mfta.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/diy-for-kids-using-recycled-materials/

kimberly @ lush lounge said...

Those are really cute and it's nice being able to create a headbans in any type of fabric. it will match everything haha!

<3kimberly
http://lushdeez.blogspot.com

MessyMeg's said...

I love these hair band (that you've made) however i went to try and do them and you could see so much of the fraying!!!! How wide did you need to make them!!!
I think there so cute!! <3

Anna said...

Now who needs Jennifer Behr? Awesome idea. :)

Rosanna said...

Fabulous!!! I'm soo JUMPING on this!!!! Thanks for the cute tutorial!!

Melissa said...

I love this headband! I featured it in my DIY Headband Article on our blog! Check it out here-- http://www.favecraftsblog.com/link-love-diy-headbands/

Jayne said...

I really like these! so cute!!! Thanks for sharing directions!!

Virginia Celoria said...

Great tutorial! I braid my hair so much, this would save some time and I'd still have a great braid! I included it in my roundup of fabulous and free headband tutorials and you can check it out here: http://darlingadventures.com/?p=470

Anonymous said...

how do you make it end up nice at the ends of the head band?

i don't want the end result to look crappy, you know?

Anonymous said...

That is so cute and I'm planning on making one for my daughter and my son!!!!

Anonymous said...

I bet you could make one with fake hair to look like your own :) that would be so cute!

Helen @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog said...

These are so beautiful! I will be sharing a link to this tutorial on my blog later today!

Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog

P.S. I am now following your blog!

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness! i didn't know it was that simple! thanks for the post! i love it!
-12 year old crafter

Michelle Gray said...

Super cute headbands. Please tell me how wide you cut the strips for wrapping and braiding. Thanks!

Unknown said...

These are perfect and I totally am with you on the awkward hair length piece....
I featured these on my blog with a direct link back to you - hope that's okay. You can see it at http://whittskitsfabricscrafts.blogspot.com/2013/02/mining-mondays-10-terrific-diy-headbands.html
Just let me know and THANKS for the great idea!
Carrie

Headband said...

Gorgeous headbands. You did very well, we are specialized in this fashion product and you're definitively gifted to make original creations. Why haven't you been doing it yet ? :)

Anonymous said...

How did you finish off the ends????

rekha said...

nic tutorial ..itsuseful for me

Unknown said...

Thanks for your tutorial :) Cute ! I love it !

Unknown said...

This is very elegant blog with great & significant information.Color correction davie

Mac den said...

If you are looking for yoga headbands please visit kooshoo.com because they provide best headbands for you.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Nice info............but kooshoo.com provides best headbands online...

Dica said...

Anei tudo

Unknown said...

Wearing hair accessories is kind of underestimated. Sites such as http://headbandsonline.com/ have a wide range of offers that nobody even considers because they do not pay attention at how good accessories for hair actually are. I think some day they might get appreciated for what they are worth but until then they will be in the shadows of other accessories.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing this with us! We will try it out.Hair highlights davie

Tasty Destination said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tasty Destination said...

i have been trying to think up something like this. thank you so much for your great tutorial! now i can make them for Christmas along with some for my nieces and I'll add some haberdashery buttons . thanks again.

Dhiraj said...

Seriously, this post is a big help...
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