floppy bow headband how to

Today I made this super cute floppy bow headband. 

Since I have to wear tons of accessories to my part time job 

(at an accessories boutique) I've been stock piling cute head bands.

This one is super simple, and only needs a few supplies and a little sewing to complete.

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You'll need:

Plastic headbands for the base. These are from the dollar store.

 Fabric for the bow and to cover the band. 

I used this silky PJ top I got from the thrift store for another project.

I snipped a sleeve off to use for the headband and bow. 

If you wanted to use fabric yardage and not a recycled garment, 

you would probably need less than a 1/4 yard.

You will also need scissors, a sewing machine, a hand sewing needle 

and thread to match your fabric, plus a dab of clear nail polish or fray check.

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HOW TO:

 If you're using a garment, select the fabric to use. 

I used a sleeve off my pj top, I just cut the seam all the way 

around the arm to yield this small, flat piece of fabric.

 Snip off the hem, leaving about a 1/4 inch next to the stitching to allow for finishing. 

You'll use this to cover the headband. 

If you were using yardage, or a non-hemmed part of the garment, 

you would want to cut out a long strip about 1" wide and about 15" long.

 Open the hem up by cutting or ripping through the threads carefully. 

Try not to snag or cut your fabric.

 Iron the extra 1/4" you left under to mimic the way the hem was turned. 

You're essentially making double fold bias tape.

 Press well, especially if you're using "silky" fabric.

Fold the strip so that the raw edges are on the inside. 

Sew the strip shut, close to the folded edges. 

You're making a finished, skinny tube.

 Sew slowly, so that you have a fairly even and consistent hem

 You're tube should look like this. 

Now you need to iron the tube so that the hem will 

be on the underside of the headband.

 It helps to slide the tube onto your headband at this point.

Arrange the seam on the bottom of the band and steam carefully with your iron.

Don't be too overzealous, you don't want to melt the plastic headband!

After being ironed and taken off the headband, your tube will look kind of like this.

See the seam ironed down to the bottom of the tube? 

Now you can slip the plastic headband into the tube and set it aside for a little while.

 Now we need to cut out the fabric for the bow.

I wanted my bow to be 6.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide.

So I needed to cut a rectangle twice my length + 1/2 inch and my width + 1/2 inch.

That means I needed a 13.5 inch by 4 inch rectangle of my leopard fabric.

 I used a disappearing fabric marker to trace a line that I then cut. 

You will also need a smaller rectangle for the center "knot" part of the bow. 

I cut a rectangle 4 inches wide by about 6 inches long to make a knot 

that is about 1.5 inch wide to wrap around the center of my bow. 

More on the knot later.

 Take the larger rectangle, and meet the ends together in the center of the strip, 

right sides of the fabric facing in.

You will want to fold it like above, but with the edges matched...

Pin and sew along the raw edge. 

You will be left with a pouch that has a slit in the center. 

 See, the inside edges are still raw, just hanging out for the moment.

 Turn the pouch right side out, making sure to poke out the corners. 

It will look like this.

Zigzag stitch through ALL layers of the pouch, catching the two open edges... 

Sew down the center like its the spine of a little book. 

This doesn't have to be super neat, as it will be covered by the "knot" later.

Now take the smaller rectangle. 

Turn under one short edge to the wrong side and sew a seam. 

There is no need to finish the other edge right now.

 Now fold the right sides together like a hot dog and sew along the long edge.

 Turn the tube right side out. 

It will look like this, with one raw short edge and one finished short edge.

Iron the mini tube flat, seam on the bottom. 

 It's time to assemble the bow!

Pinch the center of the bow along that zig zag seam you 

sewed earlier to make a nice pleated bow center.

It will look like this. Arrange it however you want. 

You can sew a little basting seam now to hold these pleats, 

or if you are using a stiff fabric, it may hold the pleat without a seam. 

If you want to baste the bow, just sew through all pinched layers, along the zig zag seam.

Wrap the smaller knot tube around the bow. 

Insert the raw edge into the finished edge.

Arrange the knot however you want it to look, loose or tight, 

pinched to look knotted or flattened out. 

Tack down the knot fabric with a hand sewing needle. 

You want to whip stitch the finished opening closed, catching the raw edges inside. 

You will also want to sew the knot in place on the back side of the bow. 

Trim the edges of the fabric tube on the headband to 

about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the headband. 

Dab clear nail polish  or fray check on the fabric to keep it from raveling. 

Whip stitch the opening of the tube shut, wrapping the raw edges to the inside of the band. 

You can also sew the seam flat by whip stitching the seam on the bottom of the headband. 

You can easily stitch one edge shut, stitch down the bottom hem 

across the inside of the headband and then finish the other end.

Position the bow on the band where you want it, and hand stitch the bow to the fabric on the band.

 You're done! The finished headband should look like this!

SO cute! Now go wear you're big sassy bow accessory with pride!