Baby Headband DIY (3 Ways and No Sew!)

One of the biggest surprises for me when my daughter Lola was born this spring was that she had hair! I was a pretty bald baby for a while, so I was rather shocked to see her dark head of hair, since I assumed she’d be a baldie too. While I was loving her dark locks, by her one month birthday she had already lost all of the hair on the front half of her head, leaving her with a hilarious baby combover from the back and I totally understood why baby stores are lined with little headbands. Baby hair be crazy looking! Anyways, I have bought a few headband type things, but I quickly realized how easy they are to make, so I’ve mostly been making my own. Here are a few simple headbands that you can do during nap time and still have a few minutes to spare!Supplies:
–ruched elastic
–daisy trim
-stretch knit fabric (medium weight)
–star trim
–1/4″ elastic trim
–rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat
-fabric scissors
–quick dry fabric glue or glue gun

Cut a strip of ruched elastic that is 1/2″ longer than your baby’s head circumference.  Use a flowered trim (like that daisy trim) and cut each flower apart to make a quick appliqué pattern. Attach 3-4 flowers together in a cluster a few inches to the right or left of the center of your ruched elastic and space another single flower an inch or so in both directions. Use a generous amount of your fabric glue (or use a hot glue gun) to stack and attach the elastic ends together in the back to complete the headband loop. Let the glue set and you’re ready to try it on!AGH! So cute!! For this headband, use your rotary cutter to cut a strip of fabric that is 5″ wide and 1/2″ longer than your baby’s head circumference.  Fold your long edges in towards the middle and use your fabric glue or hot glue gun to attach one edge over the other, creating a long flattened tube.Stuff one end of your tube into the opening at the other end and glue them together. Cut a small strip of fabric that’s 3/4″ wide and 3″ long and fold and glue the long edges inwards like you did with the larger headband. Fold your smaller tube around the center front of your headband (seam side inward on both pieces) and trim the smaller piece shorter, depending on how much of a gather you like in your headband. Repeat the process of stuffing one end of your small tube into the other end and glueing together like you did with the bigger piece and your headband is ready to wear!This is one of my favorite kinds of headbands and it can help keep ears warm if the weather is chilly. For this headband, cut a piece of decorative trim that is 2″ shorter than your baby’s head circumference.Cut a piece of 1/4″ elastic that is 1.5″ long and generously glue the elastic to both ends of the trim to complete the loop. That’s it! This one really showcases a pretty piece of trim as the star (no pun intended), so you can really use any trim you like and you may be able to find a colored elastic that matches to help it look seamless as well.It’s funny because that star trim headband is the easiest one, but it’s the one that I get the most “Where did you get that!?!” questions online. So cute!

Just keep in mind that you may have to do a little glue/fabric testing to make a no-sew headband that won’t fall apart as soon as you put it on your baby. There are definitely fabrics that glue really well and strongly to each other and some that don’t, so I would do a little test glueing with scraps to make sure your fabrics create a tight seal. Hot glue tends to work on a larger variety of supplies, so try that if the fabric glue doesn’t hold. If you use fabric glue, you should be able to wash the headbands in cold water, although if you have a really delicate trim I may just spot treat as needed. And as always, make sure your headband isn’t too tight! I know it sucks to remake something if it’s too small, but everyone will be happier if baby’s headband isn’t squeezing them uncomfortably.

These would be great shower gifts as well and you can always make new ones in new colors and trims as baby grows out of them (which happens faster than you’d think). Have fun! xo. Laura

P.S. That wooden activity toy, bunny ear teether, and lion rattle are some of Lola’s favorite toys right now 😉

Credits//Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.