a headband how-to

I've been doing a lot of crafting lately, and I must say it is nice to invest at least a little of my time into things that don't get immediately undone.  So much of what I do seems to be gone so quickly... the meals I make quickly get eaten, the laundry I wash and fold gets unfolded and dirtied again, the floors I sweep and mop get covered in dust and dirt, the toys I pick up get taken out and played with.  I love being a Mom, but I also love making things that have a life span longer than the 10 minutes it takes to eat supper.


And so: baby headbands.  I've now made several for Halle and a few for baby girl friends of ours.  They are so simple to make.  Here is a little "how-to".

First, choose some stretchy lace - these are the ones I had on hand. Measure and cut the lace to fit around your baby's head, plus a little overlap (1/2 inch extra is good).

 Pick out some fabric flowers--either small ones like the ones shown (all about 1" in diameter), or much larger, as you like.

Pull the flowers apart, removing all plastic stems, centres, etc.  Secure the layers of fabric together with a small amount of hot glue.

Hot glue a button, pearl, or jewel in the centre of each flower.  Use only a little glue, and if possible glue to the side of where the button holes are.

Hot glue the edges of the lace overlapping to make a complete circle.

A closer look...

I like to also sew on the button/pearl to make sure it is nice and secure and less likely to come off and be a choking hazard.  In theory this shouldn't be necessary since it is all hot-glued, but especially if they are gifts I want them to be well-made.  Sew on the button and through all the layers of the flower and elastic.

Now, use the hot glue gun again to glue the elastic to the flower.  Again, this isn't really a necessary step, but I find it makes the flower less floppy.

I didn't take photos of the last step, but next I cut a little piece of felt and glue it to the back of the headband, over the thread and where any glue might rub against their head.  This just makes it softer.

Voila!  A finished headband.