DIY Fabric Headband

I fell in love with fabric covered headbands at one of my favorite stores recently but at the cost of $28, there was no way it was going to make it back to my house. Of course I kept dreaming about them and decided that there had to be a simpler, more inexpensive way to make one, and this is what I ended up with...

Super cute, and super easy! It's a great project for beginner sewers or those who (like me) like a project that can be completed in a few hours (if that!) The entire project cost me nothing except time and the items needed are probably just sitting around your house.

I started out with a headband that was already falling apart...

(The fabric was unraveling at the end.) It came in a pack of 3 and since I don't really wear any of them any more, I will probably cover them even though the rest are still in good shape.

The fabric I used was a 3 inch wide scrap left over from a pair of silk pants that I had hemmed just a week prior so literally it was just laying around. I measured all the way around the headband (13 inches,) added 2 more inches and cut the fabric at 15 inches long...

After I ironed it flat, I folded it in half (to make it 1.5 inches wide,) with the right sides together and pinned it all the way down...

NOTE: Do not iron the fabric at this point! You'll have a weird crease when you finish!

Now it's sewing time! One straight line and you're done!

I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance all the way down. If you choose to hand sew, use only a single thread to do so. A bulky stitch will keep the overall look from feeling "fluffy."

Trim the edge to about 1/4 inch, and turn the fabric right side out so the seam is on the inside and you have a sort of fabric tube. now slide it onto the actual headband.

(The fabric should be longer than the headband.) Line the end of the fabric to the edge of the headband and gather it around the headband until it's tight about 1/2 inch at the end. (It doesn't have to look pretty, you'll be covering it.) I used a clothes pin to hold it in place.

Again, I had a chunk of 1 inch grosgrain ribbon hanging around, but you can use felt or any other kind of fabric, you'll need an inch per end. After cutting the 1x1 square, apply a fabric glue (or whatever type of glue you prefer,) and fold the square in half over the end of the headband, covering and holding the fabric you gathered over the end...

(Bad photo quality...sorry!) Again I used a clothes pin to hold it until the glue dried some more, and repeated the process to the other end.

Important! Be sure your seam is straight when you finish the other end or the fabric will twist!

When the glue is almost dry but the ribbon is still bendable, trim the ribbon on the inside fold and the wrap the outsides around to the inside of the headband. (This took me a few tries...any better ideas?) Again, the clothes pins came in handy until the glue was completely dry. (I let it dry overnight.)

The finished product!