How to Sew Elastic on a Headband

Custom headbands make fun accessories for yourself, a friend or your little girl. Make as many elastic headbands as you want-they're cute, cheap and unbelievably easy. In this eHow article, we'll explain how to sew the elastic for a headband. So grab some fabric, elastic and scissors, get out your sewing machine and read on for more instructions.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Scissors
• Elastic
• Safety pin
• Sewing machine

1. Turn your headband right side out after you sew it. Trim off any loose threads.

2. Cut your elastic two inches shorter than your finished headband will be. For instance, if your fabric for your headband measures 21 inches, leave a 1-inch seam allowance and cut your elastic to 18 inches. Use ¾-inch elastic for this project.

3. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic, then feed the elastic through your headband fabric. Hold on to both ends of the elastic after you feed it through the headband fabric. Make sure the elastic lays flat inside the fabric tube.

4. Overlap the two ends of the elastic by 1 inch, then safety pin both ends together. Sew the two ends of the elastic together on your sewing machine. Backstitch your seam for extra durability. Remove the safety pin when you finish sewing the seam.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your child to turn the fabric tube for your headband right side out for you. Their smaller fingers can get in tight places easier than an adults'.
• Don't stretch your elastic when you measure it. Measure it in its "relaxed" state.
• Be careful not to sew over the safety pin. You can break your needle and damage your sewing machine.