Tutorial Thursday: Interchangeable Ruffle Headband

You know which headband I get the most compliments on?

This one.

Strangers stop me and ask where I got it.
Tell me how fantastic it is.
Ask me if I sell them.

I love ruffles and so when I went looking for ideas
for a headband I found several.
Some of my favorites are Smile Like You Mean It,
Gussy, Salty Pineapple, Lu Bird Baby, and Blue Cricket Design.

I actually did make some for a local craft show back in October.
And people loved them.

But most people wanted to know if they were interchangeable.
I said no, but that was a fabulous idea!

So here it is!


You'll need:

• scrap of fabric
• 2 pieces of felt
• headband
• sewing machine
• seam ripper
• glue gun

STEP ONE
Find the center of your fabric.
Set your tension high.
Set your stitch length long.
Sew right down the middle.

It should ruffle your fabric for you.

Woohoo! Pretty ruffle!

STEP TWO
Grab the TOP thread and pull to gather it a little bit more.
Gather and fiddle until it fits your piece of felt.

STEP THREE
Pin the wrong side of your fabric to the felt.
I pin one end first - adjust the ruffle - and pin the other end.

STEP FOUR
Stitch all the way around the piece of felt.
I used about a 1/8" seam allowance.

Now it looks like this!
FRONT

BACK

STEP FIVE
Grab your seam ripper.
And carefully remove the ruffle stitch from the middle.

So it looks like this!

TIP:
If you have itty bitty holes from your ruffle stitch,
lightly spray the fabric with water
and let it air dry.
VOILA!
Teensy holes are gone.


STEP SIX
If you don't want your headband to be interchangeable,
then mark on your headband where you want your ruffle to sit.
I usually put it about 2" front the bottom of the headband.
Then glue the ruffle in place.

If you want your headband to be interchangeable,
then skip STEP SIX and proceed to STEP SEVEN.

STEP SEVEN
Take your headband and use it as a spacing guide.
Lay your second piece of felt on top of ruffled felt
and glue down ONE EDGE of the felt.

STEP EIGHT
Use you headband as a spacing guide again
and glue down the other edge - leaving a tunnel down the middle.
Be careful not to let the glue seep into the middle.
Keep your line of glue pretty close to the edge.
You can also use a pencil, dowel, or pen as the spacing guide
to avoid getting glue on your headband accidentally.

You should have an open little tunnel,
the right size for your headband.

Woohoo!
Now you can slide your little interchangeable ruffle onto your headband.
Isn't it cute??

Then take it off.

Make some more!

And never be without a ruffle again!

I am linking up HERE!!!!

WAIT!!!

ETA: Since you're here :) would you mind clicking HERE

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Fine Print:
Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal use. Please be kind and give credit where credit is due. Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.