DIY Wedding Headbands

These lovely headbands make a wonderful gift for bridesmaids or just to wear yourself! (expert advice)

These romantic headbands are wonderful gifts for bridesmaids, flower girls or just to wear on your wedding day!

Supplies for each headband:

Thin plastic headband - these are about 1/4" wide
1/2 a yard of 5/8" wide velvet ribbon
Needle
Thread to match ribbon
Tacky craft glue
Your choice of embellishments: Additional ribbon or strips of fabric in varied widths and textures, decorative buttons, feathers, beads (other ideas not shown: silk flowers, apliques, carbochons, etc)

Instructions:

1. First cover your headband with the 5/8" inch wide velvet ribbon. While you could use glue for this step you'll get a better, more permanent finish if you use needle and thread instead. To begin, start at one end of the headband and sew the ribbon around it with the seam facing outward (shown in first image above). Once you have done this fold the remaining ribbon down over the seam you have just sewn (picture 2). Proceed to sew the two edges of ribbon together along the inside of the headband (picture 3). When you reach the end, tuck in the last bit of the ribbon to mimic the other side and sew shut.

2. Now you can select how you'd like to embellish your headband. The floral trimmings and rosettes shown here were created from ribbons and strips of fabric simply by sewing a running stitch down one edge and pulling taught. Use a shorter length and sew ends together to create the smaller, simpler, rosette (shown on green and black headbands) or use a longer length of ribbon to create the floral look shown on the third headband. You can also sew seed beads to the centers for added detail.

3. Finally in attaching your embellishments "only glue what you can't sew" is a good rule to follow. You can do some basic tacking on with craft glue but it might be a good idea to also stitch your embellishments to the velvet wrapped around your headband for added security.

Additional tips:

- For feathers, gather into a bundle first and tie together with thread. Then carefully glue to headband
- If the buttons you select do not lie flat against the headband, use a file or piece of sandpaper to smooth the back of the button before attaching it to your headband.