How to Make Ballet Hair Accessories

In any performance, costume plays an important role. With ballet, the dancer's hair is just as important as the rest of her attire. Hair accessories for ballet practice and performance can provide an added dimension to dance.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1/2-inch-wide elastic
• Bobby pins
• Brush
• Ribbon
• Fine elasticized hair net to match hair color
• Hair spray or hair gel
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• Plastic hair combs
• Thread
• Needle
• Silk or fabric flowers
• Straight pins
• Fine-tooth comb
• Scissors
• Elastic band
• Hair pins

Build the Perfect Bun

1. Gather slightly wet hair into a hair band toward the top and back of the head. Use hair spray or gel to control fly-away pieces around the hairline.

2. Apply more water to the ponytail you have created and coil it tightly into a circle.

3. Use hair pins and attach the coil to the back of the head working in a circular motion from the inside of the bun outwards.

4. Stretch a hairnet to fit the bun and secure it tightly over the bun using bobby pins.

5. Make a flatter bun by removing the pins holding the bun while keeping it inside the hair net. You can then flatten the bun down and re-pin it. This is a particularly useful step for dancers with long, thick hair.

6. Spray the bun and hair with hair spray to secure the style.

Craft Ballet Hair Accessories

7. Select flat silk or fabric flowers and ribbons in complementary colors to create ballet hair accessories.

8. Wrap the top bar of a plastic hair comb with ribbon by interlacing it between the teeth of the comb. Secure the ends with thread or allow them to dangle in long ribbons on either side.

9. Make an attractive arrangement of flowers on the covered comb by pinning them in place with straight pins.

10. Secure the flowers with small stitches into the ribbon-covered comb.

11. Consider making a series of small flowered hair combs which can be inserted to completely encircle the dancer's bun.

12. Make an elasticized flower band by cutting a length of elastic to encircle the bun or the dancer's forehead, with at least a 5/8-inch overlap. Secure the elastic band with several reinforcing stitches.

13. Stitch flowers to the elastic band at even intervals. You should confirm that the band is not visible once it is stretched and in place on the hair as you arrange the flowers on the elastic.

Tips & Warnings

• Coordinate dancers' hair accessories to create a unified appearance, particularly if you are making hair accessories for an ensemble dance.