How to Make a Headband from an Old T-Shirt

Lee Meredith, contributor

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Topstitching is an easy way to brighten up your piece and add a custom touch.

Lee Meredith

The tie design keeps this project simple to sew, and makes for a headband that fits any size.

Lee Meredith

Using a T-shirt with a picture can make for a fun, playful headband design!

Lee Meredith

Topstitching is an easy way to brighten up your piece and add a custom touch.

Photo: Lee Meredith

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I am a designer and maker of hats and I wear one whenever the weather allows, which means every day for months in a row here in the Pacific northwest, so when it starts getting too warm for wool on my head, I feel naked! I need something on up there, so I break out the silk scarves and headbands. I love making these simple, recycled T-shirt headbands, made to tie in back so they're one-size-fits-all, and of course you can do whatever you want for embellishments!

You'll need:

• A T-shirt
• Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
• Optional embellishment materials (different-colored thread for topstitching, fabric paint for printing, etc.)

Start out by cutting twice straight across the tee, all the way around to form a loop, double the width that you want your headband to be plus a little extra for seam allowance. The shirt can be any adult size, and the bigger the shirt, the longer your headband will be (but you can always cut it shorter if you want). This loop will have to be under the arms and above the shirt's seam, but you can choose exactly where, so if there is an image on the shirt, place it in the middle of the loop.

Cut across the tee as the orange lines show, with the distance between the cuts being double your headband width.

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Comments (11)

BellaPerlaJewelry writes: i love to make things out of t-shirts, this was great
Posted: 1:12 pm on November 23rd

FriendyWendy writes: love it, love it, love it! wahoo - high five!...neighbor!
Posted: 10:17 pm on July 17th

DEBDIDIT writes: going to make one right now...THANK YOU
Posted: 5:23 pm on July 7th

hehehaha_samantha writes: WOO....VERY VERY GOOG IDEA TO RECYCLE MY VINTAGE T SHIRT,THANKS
Posted: 5:17 am on June 8th

smartstyle writes: Loven it!!
Posted: 7:02 pm on May 17th

Dora_Quevedo writes: This is great, so very practical! Thanks a bunch!
Posted: 2:45 pm on May 10th

tamdoll writes: This looks like a fun project. I don't wear them, but I'm going to forward this to my girls and see if they want me to make some for them.
Thanks!
Posted: 11:29 am on April 25th

paperrain writes: FAB!
Posted: 7:19 pm on April 22nd

doms218 writes: i LOVE headbands too! i'm cutting my tee shirts today... just have to figure out how to use my "new" sewing machine :)
Posted: 3:21 pm on April 22nd

MGgallery writes: These headbands are great, Lee. I love to repurpose old t shirts. It's always too sad to throw them out. Thanks for sharing!
Posted: 11:22 am on April 21st

sarahbcraw writes: Ooh great idea! I love headbands, so I def want to try this.
Posted: 6:30 am on April 21st

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