(Scroll down to the bottom for the video tutorial.)
Products used and recommended in this post:
- Floral knits on Etsy, another favorite fabric shop for knits: Funkalicious Fabrics.
- My Sewing Machine: SINGER 9960 Quantum Stylist, my coverstitch: Janome Cover Pro 1000cpx
- My Serger: Brother 1034D 3 or 4 Thread Serger or you can just use Pinking Shears
- Rotary Cutter
- I love my large ruler and large cutting mat, but you may prefer to start off with a smaller Cutting set
- Dritz Dual Purpose Marking Pen and Fray Check
- Ball Point needles
- Singer walking foot or universal walking foot (helps when sewing on very stretch fabric.)
- Cordless iron
- Wonder clips (I didn’t use these in the post, but they are just awesome!)
- .25 inch seam allowance included
- Use a ballpoint/stretch needle
- Sew seams with either a serger, stretch stitch, narrow zig zag or a straight stitch with a longer stitch length and a slightly loosened tension. (Make a couple of practice stitches on your fabric to see what works best.) I also like to use this “lightning bolt” stretch stitch on seams that need strength but a little give. (For today’s project I used a combination of straight stitch and zig zag stitch. I also made several with my serger – see how that looks here.)
- If you find your fabric keeps getting pulled inside the needle plate, place a small piece of tissue underneath the fabric so the feed dogs have something to grip. It also helps to move the needle all the way to the right, which forces your fabric over the feed dogs.
- Scraps of stretchy knit fabric
- Ball point/jersey needle
- basic sewing supplies
How to Make a Stretchy Headband
Step 1: Cut out fabric pieces.
Fold fabric in half, with the stretch going side to side. Line up provided template on fold and cut out fabric. (Template found under “materials needed”)
Step 2: Assemble headbands.
Fold fabric in half, right sides together. Starting 1 inch from the end, sew together using a stretch stitch, serger or long wide zig zag. Stop sewing about 2 inches from the other end.
Trim seam allowance.
Flip fabric tube right side out.
Line up raw edges of fabric tube, right sides together.
Sew, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, twisting fabric tube as you go. (See this step in action via the video tutorial below.)
Step 3: Close opening.
You are left with this small opening.
Pull a bit of the fabric tube back out and with a straight stitch, sew as much of the opening closed as you can.
Either by hand sewing or with the machine, sew the rest of the opening closed. Trim threads and seal with a bit of fray check if desired.
You are done!
Check out the video below for tips and tricks and to see me make a headband in real time!
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