Headband directions
Ever wondered what to do with those little off-cuts of expensive, sparkly material you have left after making your costume? Well here's an idea for making headbands - to hold on your Beladi/Folk veil - with just some leftovers and a small piece of elastic.
Begin with two lengths of fabric, approximately 80 cm long and 8 cm wide (32" x 3"). There is no need to neaten ends. If the fabric is stiff, less width may be required; if it is flimsy, more. The lengths of fabric will be plied around each other - no sewing is required to achieve this.
Holding onto one end of the fabric strip, twist the other away from you, making a clockwise turn. Twist until tightly wound and hold like this (I usually put it under my feet!)
Twist the second (hopefully contrasting) fabric strip the same way, then place the two strips next to each other, and allow them to carefully unwind around each other.
Turn the resulting 2-ply cord in the direction of the existing twist (anticlockwise, if following these directions literally) until tightly wound.
Double the cord, allowing it to twist around itself along half its length. The total length will now be slightly less than half the length of the original fabric strip.
Sew elastic between ends, probably around 10cm (4"). I have also sewn some large sequins onto the one shown at the top of this page.
Wasn't that easy!
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