Scrap busting: vintage-style headscarf tutorial

I've got a great scrap-busting project to share with you today! It's to make these vintage style headscarves/headbands - they're the kind with wire inside them which makes them stay in place nicely.

I've been meaning to make one for ages because I had an old shop-bought one that I wear all the time, but I couldn't work out what kind of wire to use - nothing seemed quite right. Then recently I saw a similar project in a magazine that used garden wire so I decided to give that a go. I was a bit skeptical because the wire didn't seem like it would be bendy enough, but it actually worked really well and now I'm slightly obsessed with making these headbands. They're really simple, so much so in fact that I almost thought it didn't warrant a tutorial, but it's always good to share ideas so I'm doing it anyway! Here we go...

You will need:
- Long, thin fabric scraps
- Garden wire (mine is 1.2 mm thick, and does the job nicely!)
- Insulating tape
- Sewing supplies

Cut 2 strips of fabric. The length/width/shape is up to you really, but as a guide I cut my strips to be 85 cm at the longest point, and 8 cm wide. I curve the ends of the strips slightly as you can see in the photo above.

Put your 2 strips right sides together and sew (I use a 1 cm seam allowance) around the edge, leaving a gap of around 10 cm in one of the long sides for turning. Don't forget to secure the threads at both ends!

Turn the fabric right side out and press

Take your wire, bend the end over and wrap it back around the wire to create a loop roughly 5 cm long - this doesn't need to be too precise, the loop just helps the ends of the headband keep their shape.

Wrap insulating tape around the wire at the bottom of the loop to hold in place and make sure there are no sharp ends.

Hold this loop at one end of your fabric strip and stretch the wire out so it is roughly the same length as the strip, allowing enough extra wire at the other end to make a second loop. Cut the wire at this point and then make a second loop in the same way as the first.

Put the wire into the fabric tube through the turning hole, feeding the loops to either end.

Sew up the turning hole by hand using your preferred method. I love the ladder stitch which Flossie Teacakes shows in this tutorial.

And you're done!

These headbands are a great way to use up fabric scraps and such a quick project. I only wish more of my friends and family were fans of headbands like this, because they'd be great to make for presents. As it is, I'll just have to make lots of myself instead - I'm sure I'll cope with that! I hope the tutorial all makes sense - if anything's not clear let me know and I'll try to sort it. I hope you enjoy making them as much as I do!

Sleeveless Emery dress - a stamp collector's dream

How do you get out of a sewing slump? For me, the answer usually involves an Emery dress and some fun fabric, because it's a combination that I know is going to be successful. So when I was annoyed that a pattern I'd ordered had been lost in the post the other week, that's just what I set about sewing. Unsurprisingly, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

I've made quite a few Emery dresses now (the last one's here), so it's a pattern I'm familiar with and doesn't cause me any stress. This time though, I decided mid-way through that I'd change things up a bit.

The dress was hanging up just waiting for sleeves and a hem, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it looked great without sleeves, and that adding them might be a bit too much with this busy print. I tried it on and decided that the armholes wouldn't be too big to be left sleeveless as long as I used a 1 cm seam allowance instead of 1.5 cm (which doesn't sound much, but it did seem to make a difference!). As I'd already lined the rest of the bodice, I cut some bias strips from my fabric and used them to finish the armholes - and it seems to have worked a treat as far as I'm concerned.

I love the fabric I used for this version, a lovely cotton poplin from Textile Express with a whole rainbow of colours. I called it a stamp collector's dream in the subject of this post, but I suspect it may actually be more like a nightmare - I'm not particularly knowledgeable about the ways of stamp collectors but I think they probably wouldn't appreciate the pretty floral and dotty "stamps" that intermingle with the more genuine items. For me, they definitely add to the fun though so it's all good.

OK, time for some honest opinions now! The observant among you may have noticed that the headband I'm wearing here matches my dress - is that just a little bit too twee or is it OK? Personally, I think I can just about get away with it here because it's a print with a relatively large repeat and until you look at it closely, the headband sort of just looks multicoloured, but with a more obvious fabric pattern it would definitely be too twee to be matching.

I have become slight obsessed with making these headbands recently though - they're really quick, a great way of using up scraps and something that I wear regularly. I'm a bit disappointed that none of my family or friends would really wear them, because if they would then that would be birthday and Christmas presents sorted! They're pretty simple, but I was thinking of doing a tutorial if anyone's interested?

So there we go - a pretty new dress and headband! They did just what they were meant to in terms of inspiring me to sew again. I'm also pleased that I tried leaving this version of the Emery sleeveless - I'd definitely do that again, which is nice because it gives me more options for my most reliable pattern. All in all, three cheers for TNTs!

Crochet Giant Granny Scarf

After I posted about the headband that I knitted my sister for Christmas, Sheila, who I bought the pattern from, very kindly got in touch with me and asked if I'd like to try one of her other patterns. Sheila has lots of lovely knitting and crochet patterns in her Etsy shop, so I jumped at the chance and, after a bit of deliberation, chose the Giant Fall Granny Scarf  crochet pattern. Here's my version...

You may have noticed from this that I've also already knit myself the same headband that I made for my sister (albeit in a different colour) and I'm just as pleased with it second time around, possibly even more so because this time I get to keep it! 

Anyway, back to the scarf! As the name suggests it is a bit of a giant, but in a very good way. Chunky, oversized scarves are lovely and cosy, and working with thick yarn and a large hook (or needles when knitting) obviously means that projects grow satisfyingly quickly. 

The cosy factor is definitely the most important thing for me at the moment though. I may have managed to find one of the rare moments of sun that we've had in the UK recently to take these photos, but (as you can probably tell from the state of my hair - thank goodness the headband is keeping it at least vaguely under control!) it was crazily windy and freezing cold so a huge snuggly scarf was definitely a very welcome companion on this walk.

The pattern was simple and easy to follow and I'm really pleased with the results. The scarf is intended to be worked in stripes of 6 different colours, which looks great, but for once I decided to be a tiny bit sensible when it came to picking what yarn to use and stuck to one lovely colour which should hopefully go with any of the coats/jackets I might want to wear it with.

I'm also pleased that I've started 2014 off with a crochet project under my belt because one of my aims this year is to keep building on my very limited crochet skills, so this is a good start to getting that going.

And another fun thing about this scarf? If you can bear to unwrap it from around your neck in the cold, it looks nice and dramatic blowing in the wind...

What more could you want?!

Horseshoe cable headband

Here's the first of the secret projects that I was working on before Christmas - a cable headband that I knitted for my sister, which she very obligingly modelled for me to show you here...

I used the horseshoe cable headband pattern from sheilalikestoknit on Etsy. I've never knitted cables before but I felt like a challenge so I decided to give it a go, and I'm glad I did - although the pattern was so easy to follow that it didn't really feel like a challenge in the end!

As with most headbands, it was pretty quick to knit and therefore satisfying to see it grow and watch the horseshoes appearing after each cable row. The border alongside the horseshoes is worked in seed stitch - so again nice and simple, but I think the texture it gives the headband is really effective.

I used Stylecraft Special Aran in Aster, which was lovely to knit with and is a great colour. The pattern uses two strands of yarn held together which means that the finished result is nice and thick so hopefully will keep my sister nice and warm!

The only problem with making this as a present? I now want one myself because I like this better than the headbands I made for myself in the autumn so it's gone straight back on my to-knit list - it's a good thing this is a quick project!

Easy autumnal headbands

After last week's knitted headband tutorial, this week I thought I'd write a quick post to share a couple of other ideas for easy headbands that I've made recently. Personally, I think that headbands are great for this time of year when your ears can end up feeling a bit chilly but it's not quite cold enough for it to be proper hat weather yet. Plus, they're usually quick and easy projects which can be good for a bit of a break when you're in the middle of working on bigger things!

I made the first of the headbands using the 1950s pin up head scarf pattern which is available as a free download from Bluegingerdoll. It's super simple and a great way of using up material left over from other projects.

I used a vintage Laura Ashley brushed cotton, which makes it nice and warm! You can wear the head scarf knotted on top of your head, but I prefer it knotted at the back, like this...

My second headband is a crochet turban headband from the book Geek Chic Crochet (which has quite a few nice patterns if anyone is looking for some new crochet projects by the way!).

This is another really simple pattern - I only learnt to crochet earlier this year and I would still definitely classify myself as a beginner but I managed it no trouble. 

They've both been getting quite a lot of wear in the last couple of weeks as the temperatures have dropped.

I've got a couple of bigger WIPs which I'm close to finishing so I'll be back to share those soon!

How to make a knitted headband

Today I thought I'd share a tutorial of how to make a knitted headband - I improvised the "pattern" myself so, given my limited knitting abilities, it must be simple and it was really quick (this is the project I mentioned in my post about my polo neck top the other week) so it would make a great addition to your winter accessories or with (dare I say it?) Christmas rapidly approaching, it would also be a lovely handmade gift. I added a bow to mine, just because I quite like bows, but you could easily make a plain version too - which would make it even easier and quicker. Here's a photo of the finished headband...

Want to know how I made it? Here we go...

First up, supplies! I used Stylecraft Swift Knit in Viola (I needed less than one skein) and 10 mm needles. You'll also need a darning needle later on.

Cast on 10 stitches, then knit in stocking (stockinette) stitch until the band fits around your head, I knit mine to be 65 cm, but as I've said before, I do have a massive head so don't necessarily use that as a guide!

Cast off, leaving a long end. 

If you want to add the bow, you'll need to knit 2 other pieces...

For the first, cast on 8 stitches and work in stocking stitch until the piece measures about 10 cm - this will be the main part of the bow. For the second, cast on 4 stitches and again work in stocking stitch until the piece measures about 10 cm - this will be the middle piece of the bow. Once you've cast off, weave in the loose ends on these two pieces.

Now to make up the headband! 

Take the main piece of the headband and, using a darning needle, thread the loose end through all of the cast off stitches. Pull the wool through so that the end of the headband gathers up.

Repeat on the other end of the headband, then join the two gathered ends together.

Find the middle of the bow piece and, thread the wool (still attached to the main headband) through to gather up, then match the gathered middle to the gathered join on the headband and secure the two together.

Take the short piece, wrap it round the bow piece and the headband, and secure together at the back. Weave in the loose end.

And you're done!

Depending on how you want your headband to look, you may also want to stitch down the ends of the bow so they don't stick out too much. 

Here's one last picture of me modelling it for you...

I'd love to see any versions that you may make for yourself - happy knitting!

How to make a bow fascinator

One of my favourite things about going to a wedding, aside from getting to catch up with friends or family and generally celebrating the happy occasion of course, is the chance to get dressed up - and for me that has to include some kind of head-wear. I don't know whether it's because I have short hair so can't really experiment with different hairstyles for special occasions, or just because I want to be a bit theatrical sometimes, but a wedding outfit just wouldn't be quite right without a fascinator or hat. They tend to be expensive though, so I've taken to making them myself for the last couple of weddings I've been to, and today I thought I'd share with you how I made this pretty bow fascinator/headband for a wedding that I was at on Friday...

There are probably already other tutorials online for making something similar, but sometimes I find it helps to read things written in a different way, so here's my version:

Start out with 3 rectangles of fabric, one for each bow and one for the 'knot' in the middle. 

My large bow piece measured 35 x 15 cm, the small bow measured 22 x 13 cm, and I ended up cutting the 'knot' down after taking this photo, so in the end it was about 4.5 x 10 cm.

Fold the large bow piece in half, right sides together, and sew down one short edge and down the long edge, then turn right sides out. 

Repeat with the other bow piece and the knot piece.

Take the large bow piece, and fold the ends over so that they meet in the middle, with the finished edge on top:

By hand, sew a loose running stitch down where the two ends join...

Then pull the thread through to gather the material up into a bow shape.

Secure the end of the thread, then repeat the whole process with the smaller bow piece.

Place the two bows on top of each other and secure together with a couple of stitches - this is just to hold them together while you add the 'knot'.

Wrap the 'knot' piece around the middle of the two bows, with the two ends meeting at the back with the finished end on top. You will probably need to cut some length off the raw edge - I prefer to have too much and have to cut some off than not have enough!

Sew the ends of the knot together by hand, and that's the bow finished! Ta da!

Now all you need to do is attach some elastic. I find it's best to just tie the elastic to the right length on your head - that way you can work out just how tight you would like it (and I have a massive head, so if I gave you a measurement based on what I used, it would probably be too big for most people!).

Tie the elastic into a knot, and sew the knot onto the back of the knot on the bow. This doesn't need to be too neat (as you can see, mine definitely isn't!) because you're about to cover it up.

Cut a small piece of felt (other fabric would be fine too, just with felt you don't have to worry about edges fraying) to cover the elastic on the knot and glue on (I used Gutermann creativ HT2)

And you're done!

Here's a picture of me wearing mine at my friend's wedding this weekend.

If you make your own versions, I'd love to see them!