Jersey Flower Headband Tutorial (one of the many)

My friend needed a flower for 10 and 11yr olds to make and I came up with this beauty (there are so many flower tutes out there it's easy to make up your own using bits of each technique for a unique flower :) of course you use an old shirt (I love recycling) and there is limited sewing involved.

All of these are possible items you could use.  The shirt I used was 100% Rayon, but you can use Cotton Poly, 100% Cotton, spandex/cotton, lyrcra, etc. Really anything that has some give to it is great. It can even be a fancy shirt that's a little stretchy.  I wouldn't use sweater material because that unravels and is sometimes too thick.

The shirt I used- it had shrunk in length and had a bleach spot on the back.

First cut a 2 inch strip- always cut the headband first so that you know you've got it-(if you want to make the headband braided cut 3 inches instead of 2) One time I started cutting the flower pieces first and then realized I didn't have anywhere from which to cut the strip. laaaaame. The strip should be about 30 inches or more. Measure your head and allow 6 inches for tying. That might put it around 30 inches depending on the size of your head. When in doubt cut it big and you can trim it later.

Now start in on the shirt with the petal templates.

Remember that when it says cut 4 that you'll actually be cutting twice since you'll be cutting the front and back of the shirt together. same theory for the cut 6, just so you know :) duh.

It's easiest if you cut it out crudely and then once it's seperated from the shirt follow the template. don't worry if it's not perfect. it won't show and if it does it adds to the charm.

Starting with the larges circles, lay one down flat. 

 Then fold the remaining three into quaters and place them on the circle.

Now sew the three in place to the bottom circle.  Lay a medium sized circle on top on this layer

And do the same thing you did with the previous layer

Now take the smallest circles...

layer 5 of the 1/4 folded small circles... just overlap the edges

Now sew all the way through the middle up and back on the center point of each petal and pull tight so the outer edges are foofier than the center.  I ended up slightly trimming my flower to look scalloped on the edges...

 Sew or glue a button in the center.  Different centers match different materials- If you're using a more fancy looking shirt material then choose something like a rhinestone button or brooch. Using a running stitch (the in and out stitch you learn when you're 3) just go underneath and sew the flower to the band around in a circle- dont go through all the layers, just a few, and sew about 3/8 from the edge so that the flower doesn't seem floppy on the band.  put it on your head the way you'd wear it and tie. Now remove the headband and trim the ends to be even. you may taper or bias cut the ends, but it's not necessary.

BRAIDED BAND OPTION:
Braiding the band... cut your 3" wide strip into three 1" wide strips and safety pin the end to something (I use the arm of the couch)

Braid loosely for a chunky looking braid that will still have some give to it.

Now wrap it around your head and sew it together to be the right size and sew the flower to it.

This cutie can be worn  sweat band style (as is starting to be popular right now)

Or traditionally behind the bangs...

Shower recommended.  I just finished working out and hadn't yet. booo!


FLOWER TEMPLATE