Mix and match clothes and tie your hair gently with a homemade cloth hair tie. Say goodbye to broken hair with this signature '90s hair accessory that can be easily made in 30 minutes. Sew a few hair ties by hand or a sewing machine. The making will be even more perfect if you have several unused sheets of cloth
Step
Part 1 of 3: Measuring and Cutting Materials
Step 1. Measure and cut the elastic
Use elastic rubber with a width of 1 cm or 2 cm. The length of the band should be about 10 cm or an additional 2 cm if you have very thick hair.
Step 2. Measure the fabric
Your final fabric should be approximately 20 cm long and 10 cm wide if you are using a 10 cm long elastic. Add 5cm of fabric length if you add 2cm of elastic. You don't need to adjust the width of the fabric. Fold the longest side of the rectangular fabric about 10 cm from the edge to cut the fabric at the crease.
Step 3. Cut at the folds with sharp scissors
Remember to always leave a little bit of fabric in case you need more parts to sew. You may cut more than the original size. You can always reduce the fabric if there is excess, but you will not be able to increase it after the fabric is cut.
Part 2 of 3: Sewing Everything
Step 1. Sew the fabric with the outsides facing each other
Fold the cut fabric in half with the patterned or colored side facing in. Pin, and sew straight lines by hand or sewing machine, leaving about 1cm of seam.
Step 2. Turn the fabric over
After sewing the long side of the fabric, you will get a tubular fabric with two open ends. Flip the tube so that the patterned side faces out.
Step 3. Add elastic
Attach a safety pin to one end of the rubber, and insert it into the fabric "tube". Be sure to hold the other end of the elastic so that it doesn't all go into the "tube" of the fabric. Unite the end of the rubber with a pin so that it overlaps a little.
Step 4. Sew the ends of the rubber
Sew a square with this square stitch section covering all the overlapping ends of the rubber, then sew diagonally across the square. The criss-cross square stitch will ensure the rubber doesn't come loose when you pull it.
- You can sew by hand or by machine.
- Make sure you don't sew the fabric on the elastic in this step.
Step 5. Join the ends of the fabric by sewing them by hand
Use a whip stitch so that the stitches are not visible from the outside of the hair tie. To sew with the whip stich technique, first stack the ends of the fabric and fold the ends slightly inward. Sew around the edges, alternating between the two ends of the fabric.
Part 3 of 3: Decorating and Using Cloth Hair Ties
Step 1. Decorate the hair tie
Tie or sew ribbons or other decorations to make your hair tie more unique and beautiful. Use bell decorations for Christmas, heart-shaped hangers for Valentine's Day, or colored ribbons with the national flag for Independence Day celebrations. Get creative by adding floral embellishments made of silk or beads.
Step 2. Test the strength
Carefully tie your hair into a loose ponytail. The hair tie should stretch like a regular elastic. If your hair tie breaks, don't be sad! Try making it again, but focus on sewing the elastic more tightly.
Step 3. Put it on
Lift your hair up and tie it in your homemade hair tie to show it off. Tie it into a loose ponytail, or first tie your hair with a regular hair band, and then tie it back with your homemade fabric hair tie to make it tighter.