Making a quick headband to coordinate with an outfit adds just a little extra something. I whipped out a few of these knit knot headbands the other day to give a little motivation to my straggly haired girls as the new school year approaches. They are super easy and super quick to sew!
Grab some knit fabric – you’re going to cut two pieces into long oval shapes. With your fabric folded, cut two rectangles 13″ long (along the stretch) and 2 1/2″ wide. Use a rounded object to trace a half circle on the open end (opposite the fold) of the rectangle and cut.
Now, you’ll have two long ovals. Place them right sides together, press a little with some steam if the knit starts rolling over on itself. Use a serger or a zigzag stitch to sew all the way around the ovals – you want the knit to maintain its stretch, so don’t use a regular straight stitch. Leave a 1-2″ opening at the center along one side only for turning the headband right side out.
Turn the headband right side out and reshape. Press. Now, you’ll need to close up your opening. You can just zigzag stitch on the outside of the fabric since this spot will be at the nape of the neck and won’t show OR you can slipstitch it closed so it doesn’t show.
Now, wrap that headband around your girl’s head and tie into a double knot! That’s it!
I previously made a similar headband out of quilting cotton to match one of the dresses I made for Grace.
I used almost the same method, but lengthened the starting rectangle measurement to about 17″ each (on the fold, so 34″ long each). Then, I followed the same steps to round the edges, sew the two pieces together and turn right side out. Then, I topstitched around the entire headband, closing the opening in the process. Since the quilting cotton doesn’t have the stretch that the knit does, I added some elasticity to the center of the headband, which is then worn at the back of the neck.
To do this, I marked the center of the headband and then marked about 2.5″ to each side of the center. With elastic thread in my bobbin, I stitched rows back and forth between each marked line, making about a 5″ elasticized chunk at the center of the headband. Press and steam this area from the top of the fabric to give it all that great stretchiness.
Next, I placed the headband around my daughter’s head and pulled it tight, marking where the two sides meet at the center front. I stitched the two sides together there, forming the headband circle, and then tied it into a knot.
Done!!
The girls were very excited to model the new knit headbands all together.
They thought it was hysterical how I was barking out for them to squish together, and stop standing in front of one another, and lay with their heads all together on a blanket. They thought it was SO hysterical in fact, they couldn’t keep a straight smile for anything! Enjoy!
