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Thursday, September 9, 2010

5-minute Leather Headband Tutorial!

Yay, thank President Reagan for National Sewing month!

Actually, this only has about six or seven actual stitches, but still. I sewed right?! Here's what I do when I find that my child has either broken, lost or given away all her headbands, and we are running out of hair-do's for the week. (Because I get up, brush her hair and fix it EVERY SINGLE DAY. And tell her the same thing, "It hurts to be pretty." hahaha.)

composition

So, for those of you like me, who have several (hundreds) square feet of leather hanging around, I thought it would be nice to make my daughter (and I) a headband out of the stuff.

sew leather

I simply took a color of leather I liked, brown in this case, and cut it into a 1/2" strip about 3/4 of the circumference of my girls head long. (Or you could just GUESS like I did. I don't measure, I just have faith!) Next, take a 4-5" strip of elastic and if you have a tough sewing machine, like I do, sew it onto the leather.

stitches

Make sure you go back and forth a few times, so you have a nice tight stitch on your elastic. (If you don't have a sewing machine that will sew through tough cow leather, then simply hand sew the elastic on.) Repeat for the other side of elastic.

glue on back

Plug in your high-temp glue gun and once hot, glue a wiggly strip on the backside of the leather. I use high temp, so the glue really gets down into the leather backing and does not cool down and peel off. This is simply to give the headband a grip on your child's hair.

on her hair

Let the glue dry and cool down. Place on your daughter's head and say, "Wow, you're SO pretty!"

happy girl

And watch as she smiles at you with her beautiful sleepy grin!

*And then if you have lots of leftover sealskin scraps, like we do, you can add a cute little circle onto the headband too. It sort of reminds me of Couture Eskimo Fashion! I think I'll add a sealskin flower to Kaisa's after school. (Anyone want one? I'm thinking of opening an Etsy shop with an emphasis on modern Eskimo accessories. Hello Ivory Earrings!!)

sealskin button on headband

11 comments:

Isiik said...

Yeah on the etsy shop idea! I would love to wear one of your items down here in Kodiak!

Sabrina said...

I want one! My daughter would LOVE one!!! We have a problem with headbands slipping out of her hair because it's so silky. Argh! Ruthie could really use one!

Leslie said...

I would shop in your shop

gpc said...

I definitely think you should look into Etsy. You are so talented and I'm sure lots of people would love to buy from you!

Doin' It Myself said...

You should so (or sew... bad pun) do it!
My man and I are going hunting this weekend and he wants a porcupine because "They taste pretty good!" I told him if he did that, then he had to get all the quills out too, so I could send them to you. LOL.

Heather said...

Woohoo! I've been WAITING for you to open an Etsy Shop! I am longing for one of those adorable aprons that look like atikluks (sp?)and I would love the opportunity to buy fashionable eskimo accessories! I could set an Eskimo fashion trend in Chicago!!

tarichuck said...

I love it! and most definitely "Yes!" on an Etsy shop. I know I would spend plenty of time shopping there.

Jennifer Montero said...

30 years ago my mother gave me the "it hurts to be pretty" speech. Is that in the mom handbook? (I only have dogs so I use "don't eat that!" alot instead)

Fab headbands. I love that you have "leftover sealskin scraps". That's the coolest thing I've read all day.

Anonymous said...

wow, I'm a long-time reader, and have never commented, but the possibility of an Etsy shop with your creations was too exciting! go for it!!

-E

scarfoot79 said...

The real question is, can you teach me how to make my hair look good in a headband? haha

hair accessories said...

Ahh, so pretty. LOVE this one. I would love to make one for my niece. Nice and clear instructions. Thanks for sharing this with us!