Headband Tutorial

I've gotten the craft itch the past few days and decided to make Avery some headbands to go with her outfits.  My goal for her is to have a big ol' bow or flower for every outfit she owns.  :)

I've got the cutest model ever.  :)

What you'll need:
-Felt to match the color of the headband you're making (one 8.5 x 11 sized sheet worked for me to make 3 headbands)
-Glue gun
-1/8th to 1/4th of a yard of desired fabric (knit worked the best for me)
-Fold over elastic
-Button or other bling object to put in the middle of the flower

Measure out how big you want the flower to be on your headband.  I eyeballed it and decided that the size of the opening of my coffee cup looked pretty good.  Trace the size onto the felt and cut it out.  You'll need 2 circles, one for the base and one to finish the headband off.

Take the material and begin to cut 1 inch diameter circles.  Final count on Avery's headband was 25.  I would suggest cutting about 15 and then seeing where that gets you.  Cut more if you need them.

Once you have all of your circles cut, it's time to start gluing!  Take a single circle and grab it by the middle so that it forms a petal shape.

Dab with hot glue and attach to the middle of the felt circle.

(It will unfold when you let it go, don't worry, it'll go back once you begin adding others.)

Repeat this process and place the bottom point of the petal (where the glue is) as close to the previous petal glue as possible.  The more you add, the petals will remain close together creating the stacked look.  After you've added the second petal, repeat this process by adding the petals to the felt in a circular pattern working from the inside to the outside and keeping the bottom point as close as possible.

Once you've reached the size and bulk of flower that you like, it's time to attach the headband portion.  Measure how much elastic you'll need and cut that length plus half of an inch from the elastic.  (Ex: Avery's head circumference measured 13.5 inches but I cut around 14 inches in elastic)  Glue one end of the elastic to the back of the felt base of the flower.

This is the elastic I used.  It's really soft on both sides and most of the headbands for sale in boutiques, etsy, etc use this type of elastic.

Glue the other end of the elastic to the felt base.  (Make sure you glue the right side of the elastic.  I may or may not have glued it wrong so there was a huge twist which would have been so uncomfortable for Avery)

After the elastic is attached, trim the base felt so that it doesn't stick out from the flower.  Then, take the second felt circle you cut and glue it to the felt and elastic to "cushion" the elastic and double bond the elastic.    Trim this felt so that it's as close to the shape and size of the base felt as possible.

(This is pre-trimmed)

Last touch, glue your button or bling to the middle of the flower and now, you've got a really stinkin cute headband!