How to Design Your Own Headbands

Headbands help keep hair back smoothly.

Headbands serve multiple functions within a person's wardrobe, from the strictly practical (holding back bangs that are growing out or keeping your hair out of your face while you exercise) to the purely fashionable (drawing attention to your cute new haircut or providing an accessory that matches your outfit). Whether you want to design a frou-frou headband or an all-business headband, start with the basics of its intended function and material.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pen
• Colored pencils, markers or crayons

Instructions

1. 

   Headbands can be made of or adorned with fabric such as denim.

   Begin by determining the basic design constraints for the headband. These include function ("must not have anything that would snag on a hooded sweatshirt"), style ("needs to match my prom dress") or material ("I want to use the red velvet I bought yesterday").

2. 

   Athletic headbands tend to use sweat-wicking fabric rather than metal or plastic.

   Sketch the "bones" of the headband, which is the part that actually fits on the head. This part can be made of plastic or metal formed to fit your head, elasticized fabric, or an elastic loop wrapped in fabric. Decide what sort of material or fabric will be used for the main part of the headband, what color it will have and what stitching or other details will be on it.

3. 

   Pearl accents add subtle elegance to a headband.

   Add decorations or accents. If you want to make a hippie-style headband to match your new peasant skirt, wrap the ends of the headband in leather cord or add a jaunty feather on the side. If you want an oceanic headband to suit your mermaid princess Halloween costume, accents could range from faux pearls and rhinestones to cowry shells, sand dollars and polished discs of abalone.

4. Color in your fabric patterns, stitching, beading, accessories and other details on the design page. From the design page you move forward to actually making the headband that is personally customized.

Tips & Warnings

• If you get stuck for a starting point, begin with a theme or style inspiration, such as the African savanna or "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

References

• "New York Magazine"; Heads Are Wrapped for Spring 2009; Amy Odell; September 2008
• CraftStylish; How to Make a Feather Headband; September 2009