How To Make a Headband

Ribbon headbands secured to elastic ponytail holders.

I’ve seen many headbands lately which use a loop of cord elastic that is cinched at the center, usually by a metal crimp, to form a figure eight (like Anthropologie’s Oxford headband, Anthropologie’s Fairytale Theater headband, Banana Republic’s double ribbon headband, and Santi’s metallic headband). This inspired me to use two ponytail holders to achieve a similar effect–because I do not have any metal crimps and neither do you, I presume, and, while we’re at it, maybe you don’t even have cord elastic. So here it is, an easy headband using minimal supplies that you probably already have at home.

Materials

• Ribbon, approximately 15-20" (38-51 cm) in length (the length will depend on the size of the ponytail holders you use)
• 2 elastic ponytail holders

Instructions

1. Interlace the 2 ponytail holders together as shown in Diagram 1 and pull on them to form a knot.



Diagram 1

2. Fold one end of your ribbon 0.25-0.5" (6-13 mm) to the wrong side twice, slipping one of the ponytail holders inside the second fold. Without sewing over the ponytail holder, sew the folded end of the ribbon with a rectangle of stitching as shown in Diagram 2.

Tip: If your ribbon is wider than 0.75" (19 mm), you may want to fold or pleat the ribbon at the ends so that it is narrow enough to attach easily to the ponytail holders.



Diagram 2

3. Test the fit by trying on the headband while stretching the ponytail holders to the unattached end of the ribbon. Cut the ribbon to the desired length, adding in extra length for the seam allowance.
4. Repeat Step 2 with the other end of the ribbon and the other ponytail holder, making sure the ribbon is not twisted.