Super easy made-to-measure headbands

I don't know about you, but as an adult I find that all of the headbands on the market seem to be too small.  Metal and plastic ones dig into my head and are uncomfortable, whilst fabric ones slip off too easily because they're too small.  The exception for me is an unattractive Nutrimetics one I use to keep my hair out of my face in the bathroom.  I use scarves, but often I'd like something that looked a bit flatter.

I came across a tutorial at Between the Lines which gives good instructions for a girls' headband, but for me it's a bit too wide - I want something that will sit flat, rather than fold or scrunch when I put it on.  I also had to adjust the size to fit my head.  Here's what I did (of course you could use these instructions to make a kid's size headband - I'd be inclined to reduce the elastic length by a couple of centimetres and increase the fabric length by the same amount for smaller kids though):

First you need to work out your ideal size headband.  If you’re like me then you have at least one scarf pre-knotted in your wardrobe.  If not, get yourself a scarf or piece of material and tie it around your head as a headband.  Now take it off and measure the length of the band.  Mine is 56cm.

 You need to cut yourself a piece of fabric that’s 8cm shorter than your ideal headband length (I cut mine at 48cm) and 12cm wide.  You’ll also need a 12cm long piece of 2cm / 2.5cm wide elastic.

 Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, right side in.  

Stitch along the long side with a 1cm seam allowance.

Turn the fabric right side through and press.  I’ve put the seam along one edge, but you could place it in the centre of the wrong side if you prefer.  You could also topstitch the final piece along both long edges if you prefer.

Line up the centre of one end of the elastic with the centre of one end of the fabric piece (right sides together).  Fold over each side of the fabric.  I’ve  used 2.5cm elastic in this example, and if you used 2cm elastic then the two ends would overlap, which would hide all the ends of the fabric when the band is off (you can’t see the ends either way once its on though).

Stitch across the end twice.

Repeat on the other end of the elastic and fabric sections, then turn the fabric so that you hide the seam allowances and stitching.

You’re done! 

Variations

• As you can see you can’t see the elastic when you're wearing the headband, but if you’re keen to cover it up you could make a sleeve to cover over it (see Between the Lines for a demonstration).
• If you’re after a wider headband you could hem each side of the fabric instead of folding it over.  In this case you’d have to fold the fabric where you attach it to the elastic (again, see Between the Lines for a how-to on this).
• If you’re after a firmer headband you could iron on interfacing on your fabric before stitching.