If you are a Pinterest-er (I think I might have made that term up), then you’ve surely seen the adorable braided headbands made from old t-shirts. I was busy using some of my old t-shirts to make clothes for my kids a couple of days ago and used some of the scrap to make this headband for my 18 month old, Little Miss K.
I snapped a few pics of how I got started to share with you.
I cut some long strips of material from the t-shirt and gave them a good stretch. Then I stacked 4 and stitched them together just enough to get them to stay.
To get the right length is not an exact science. I just measured my kid’s head around where the headband would be and stopped the braid at that length and cut off the excess. Just be sure to start with strands longer than the actual length because the braid shortens the overall length by a little bit.
The rest is easier if I just show you. It is hard to explain with words, but basically you just weave the outer strands through the rest alternating sides. I started with the left outermost strand. Then I weaved the right outermost strand through to the left. This part is tricky because once you weave the left outermost strand through, it becomes the right outermost strand. Don’t use that one – use the one that was the right outermost strand. I used 2 different colors, so you can see a bit easier what I mean.
When you do this for real, you’ll make the braid tight. I just did this loosely so you could see how each strand is woven through the rest.
I think I used a wrong strand somewhere early on when I braided the headband because the pattern looks different than I expected. But that’s ok! This isn’t one of those crafts where you have to be super exact. It is actually very easy and not much different than a 3-strand braid.
Once I got to the end, I just stitched both ends together by hand and wrapped the overlap in another piece of scrap t-shirt material. I’ve seen some tutorials that suggest using fabric glue to secure this part. I just stitched it up by hand, which was very fast and easy.
This is such an easy craft and you don’t have to use a sewing machine. I literally did this from start to finish during naptime.
Next month I’ll share the tank top I made for my 3-year old and the sundress I made for my 18 month old (I’m ready for summer, can ya tell??). Check me out on Instagram for a peak at the tank top.
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What is your favorite way to repurpose old t-shirts? Have you tried a t-shirt headband? There are so many options, which is your favorite?
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