No-sew headband

When I was wandering around the craft section of Walmart, I found a fabric I liked and decided that I wanted to make something out of it. I have always liked when girls wear bandanas as headbands but they seem too thick and odd-looking when I try it out myself.

This is my finished product:

The picture is of my first attempt at this headband. The next time I make one I will add a few inches so the ties are bigger (I will make the adjustment in my instructions so that you will have the right length.) The whole project took me about a half hour since I was experimenting, but now that I know how, the next time I make one it will probably only take ten minutes.

What you need:

1/2 yard of your choice of fabric (thin fabrics will work better)
Hem iron-on adhesive (for light fabrics)
Scissors
Pen
Ruler
Iron
Starch (optional)
Tape measure (optional)

To begin, you will want to lay your fabric flat. Using your pen and ruler, make a mark that is 3.5 inches into the fabric (don't worry, the headband won't be this wide when you're done.)

Now, for this next part you will need to measure around your head where you are planning on wearing the headband. I didn't want to dig out a tape measure so I wrapped the fabric around my head, marked it, and then measured that with a ruler. My measurement was 20.5 inches. So that you can tie the headband at the finish, you will want to add 10 inches to your measurement (ex.: my new measurement is now 30.5 inches.) Using my ruler, I went along the edge of the fabric 30.5 inches up and repeated the last step (make a line 3.5 inches into the fabric.) Use your ruler to create a straight line parallel to the edge of the fabric that connects your two marks that are 3.5 inches in. Try to make a straighter line than what the picture shows ;)

Use your scissors to cut both lines you have just drawn. The slower you cut, the less fraying you will have. Once you have your strip, fold it in half trying to line up the edges as accurate as possible. Iron across the folded strip to get rid of any unnecessary folds. If you would like to use starch, you can spray the folded fabric before you iron it to create a more crisp look with a finer fold like mine:

The ends of your fabric will still be square and straight as opposed to my picture above. While your starch is drying, you can make your round edges. Keeping your fabric folded, start 2 inches down the edge of the fabric and create a curve like the picture below. Make sure when you end the curve, it is at the very end of the fabric by the fold so you don't make the actual length of the headband shorter.

You will want to use your iron-on hem next. It is important that you follow the directions that came with your hem when you're using it. The directions on mine told me that I needed to have dry fabric and use my iron on medium heat with no steam or water. I had to let my headband dry for a little bit since I previously sprayed it with starch. Measure your iron-on hem so that you have one long strip the same length as the straight cut edge of your fabric. Once I had my long strip, I cut it into smaller ones so that ironing it together would be easier.

For your curved edges you will want to cut two tiny strips of the hem like this:

Placing the hem as close to the edge without going over is important so that your fabric won't fray. This is how close I put mine:

Putting one section on the inner edge of the fabric at a time, you can begin to iron. My hem instructions said to hold the iron over the area for three seconds. Going piece by piece insures that you have no empty space in your headband for bubbles or ripples. This is my finished strip after I ironed:

The second picture shows that my fold was uneven. All I did was cut the edge so that they matched. Now all you have to do is put it on and tie it!

I added extra inches in the instructions so your ties will end up being longer than mine. You can always add as much as you want to have extra long ties. Use any fabric you want and just have fun with it!