Recycled Tights Headband

As anyone with a little girl knows, hair accessories are all the rage right now. I'm no exception to this fad and am guilty of not only buying but also making lots of pieces for my four month old daughter. Since she doesn't really have any hair, I have to attach any clips to a headband. There are really nice crocheted headbands at almost any craft store and on Etsy, but I've found that they are just too wide for a little melon like Baby Bear's. There are also thin elastic headbands at the store, but we've found that those squeeze the little head. A lady at church told me that she cuts headbands for her daughter from old pairs of tights, so I thought that maybe I would give it a try. Since I don't really have any old tights laying around, I had to buy a cheap pair at Target, but an old pair would definitely work great for this project. An old t-shirt or fleece scraps would probably work great too.

Materials:
- Tights
- Scissors
- Needle and thread
- Fabric glue (yet again, using the dreaded tacky glue..)

Instructions:
1. Measure the cabeza of whoever you are making this for and double it.
2. Cut three pieces of the tights length ways down the leg to the length of the doubled head circumference.

3. Stack the three pieces and match the ends up. Sew the ends together.

4. Spread the strands out to begin braiding. 

5. Braiding:

    Take the left strand (outside piece) and pull it over top of the center piece.

     Take the right piece (outside right) and pull it over the new center piece, so it is in between the center and left pieces.

     Take the new left piece and pull it over the new center piece. Then repeat with the right side and keep doing this. 

     Keep even tension on the strands as you continue the braid down to the end. Finish off the braid at about 1 inch before the bottom.

6. Grab your needle and thread again and sew the bottom of the braid closed to make sure that it doesn't fall out. There should still be about an inch of strand pieces left loose. 

7. Make the braid into a circle, matching up both ends of strands, restacking them together. Measure the headband against the head again, and hold it together where it will be just a tad smaller than the head so that it won't fall off. Sew the ends together at this point..

8. Cut a small rectangular piece of the tights, just enough to wrap around to cover the ends. 

9. Using some fabric glue, glue the edge of the rectangular piece to the seam, adding more glue and continuing to wrap the piece until it covers the whole seam and overlaps itself a little bit.

10. Trim off the excess and you're done! 

Finished product:

Best part is, the possibilities for this are endless! Dress it up with an accessory clip, make it in different colors, add more strands for a wider or woven look, etc. 

Baby Bear's will look great with her flowers, and won't be too wide for her head!