Sew an Upcycled Baby Headband

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by Christina Dennis

Upcycled Baby Headband

My 3-year-old daughter loves her little craft scissors, and the other day when I turned my head for two seconds she cut several neat little slits in a pair of her cute leggings! After giving her a lesson on what NOT to cut, I decided to upcycle the leggings into a cute little headband for her baby sister (and bonus – it fits her too)! Here’s how I did it:

Supplies:

  • old leggings or a tshirt with 4-way-stretch (you can stretch both ways; it has spandex or lycra in it)
  • sewing machine

Instructions:

You will need a piece of knit fabric approximately 4″ wide and at least 16″ long for the main part of the headband. In the case of these leggings, I cut the part below the waistband and above the legs to be the main headband piece.

 

Measure the circumference of your child’s head and cut the length of your main piece to the same measurement (once the 1/2″ seam allowances are subtracted, the headband will fit snugly on the head).

If you’re making a headband as a gift, use the head circumference measurements below as a reference:

Newborn: 14″
6 months: 17″
12 months: 19″
2-3 years: 20″

The circumference of my headband was about 18″ and it happened to fit both my 3 month old and 3 year old daughter!

Fold the piece in half and stitch right sides together using a 1/2″ seam allowance. (In the case of this headband, there were two seams inside from the original leggings – I cover one later with the flower embellishment.)

Turn the piece right-side-out. Then fold the raw end of one side to the inside about 1/2″. Insert the other raw edge inside the folded edge and stitch together to secure.

To make the flower embellishment, you will need to find a piece of fabric on your garment that is approximately 2″ wide and 10″ long (the longer the strip, the larger the flower). I found this piece on the “good leg” of my leggings. Using a long stitch on your machine, make a basting stitch approximately 1/4″ from one side of the piece going lengthwise. Don’t back-stitch. Pull on of the threads after stitching to created a gathered piece.

Find a spot on the main headband piece that you want to affix the flower to (on mine, I put it over one of the seams on the side) and pin the gathered piece to the headband in a spiral shape. Machine sew the flower in a spiral onto the headband (sew over your original gathering stitch). All done – a simple, upcycled headband for your baby girl!

Upcycled Headband

Christina Dennis is the creator and designer behind Golly Gee Baby, a collection of unique and colourful baby clothing and accessories that are ethically manufactured.

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