Baby headbands
All parents love to dress up their babies. Part of dressing up baby is cute little hair accessories which match the baby’s outfit. Baby headbands are an attractive and decorative and can also be worn to style hair and keep it away from your baby eyes. Hundreds of different styles of baby headbands are available in the market today. Before purchasing lovely headband for your baby, you must learn information about the few basic types of headbands. Baby headbands are available in 4 basic types; pantyhose headbands, nylon headbands, crochet headbands and lace headbands
Baby headbands basic types
- Classic nylon baby headbands are usually made of soft materials that span around the infants heads. The headband is designed with a loop from satin or grosgrain nylon placed on the headband. The design of these headbands allows placing hair accessories like flower clips, corkers or bows on them. The most important feature of the nylon ribbon is that it makes it easy to add an accessory to match your baby’s outfit. These headbands are preferred by most parents as they don’t leave marks on the child’s head. Although they are stretchable, nylon headbands are not suitable for children older than 1 year. These headbands are snag resistant.
- Pantyhose headbands can be made easily at home. They are less expensive than other types of headbands and these headbands are more comfortable for children as they don’t leave marks on their heads. However, pantyhose headbands can be easily snagged by infants’ small fingers. These headbands are suitable for infants below 1 year of age. Moreover, pantyhose headbands can be nicely decorated with flowers, bows or other hair accessories.
- Lace baby headbands can vary the sizes and holes of these headbands.. These are suitable for both infants and toddlers. The type of lace headband is made using an accessory ribbon. Although lace headbands are usually trendier than other types of headbands, lace headbands tend to leave marks on babies’ foreheads; hence, they shouldn’t be used for long times. Lace headbands cannot be snagged by children.
- Crochet headbands are fancy headbands that are increasingly liked by most parents. Unlike lace headbands, crochet headbands tend to be very comfortable for infants and toddlers as they are designed to stretch easily to fit different sizes of children’s heads. Crochet handmade baby headbands are considered now the most common hair accessory used by both infants and toddlers. These headbands can be easily interchangeable with flower clips, bows or other hair accessories. Crochet headbands are the most difficult type of headbands to be found on the market; however, many online shops are offering many styles and designs of crochet headbands. Average crochet headbands can usually be purchased for less than 5 dollars. Nonetheless, some top brand crochet baby headbands may cost more than 20 dollars.
The beginning of headbands started no later than the ancient Greeks who wore hair wreaths. The Greeks and Romans wore these pieces to very special occasions or an important event. Cultures such as the Etruscians and Romans started to decorate their wreaths with jewels made up of gold and silver. While wreaths are certainly a likely beginning of today's headbands, some believe that current day hair bands have slowly taken shape from scarves that were worn around the head or were modified from the band of hats that tied under the chin.
Tips and techniques for making a baby headbands, fabric suggestions, sewing instructions, embellishment ideas, color combinations and materials
Elastic material makes it easy to create a fabulous array of baby girls’ headbands which are beautiful and easy to assemble. Some materials you’ll need are 1/4" elastic, 1/2" elastic, small silk flowers, satin or other suitable fabrics, Velcro, ribbon, bows, and strands of tiny beads. There are several different types of headbands which you can make, but for a baby, all of these should completely encircle the head. Headbands which go from behind one ear across the top of the head, to behind the other ear are not suitable for babies. They can get them off and poke themselves in the eye or incur other injuries.
Measure the circumference of the baby’s head and cut a piece of elastic this exact size. On a sewing machine, lay a strip of fabric which is about 1/2" inch in width, and approximately 2" longer than the elastic. Place elastic piece on top of the fabric and stitch the elastic to the end. It is not necessary to fold the fabric under. Fold the side edge of the fabric 1/4", then over onto the elastic, now fold the opposite side over 1/4", then over onto the elastic and the fabric. Sew down the middle, stretching elastic out during stitching. Be careful not to pull the elastic in only one direction, causing you to break a needle or bind the thread. Instead, hold elastic at each end, stretch, and guide through the stitching process. When you get to the end, remove from under foot and clip threads. With right sides together, stitch the two ends of the headband together, back stitch and stitch again. Remove from machine and clip the seam closely.
To decorate the head band, you can sew on small silk flowers, leaves, pearls and such. You can also make the basic design, then sew around the entire headband, attaching flowers and such as you stitch. Instead of silk flowers, you can also use pieces of satin which have been folded into a rose shape, foam shapes from a craft store, or fabric pieces cut into assorted shapes. Other items you can use to decorate the headbands are rhinestones, sequins, veil netting, and little satin bows. For a more versatile headband, attach a small piece of Velcro onto the top of the headband, off to one side, if desired. Now, make a variety of floral arrangements with a small Velcro piece on the backs, so that the embellishment can be removed and replaced with another. Make some headbands in basic girls’ colors, like white, pink, yellow and green. Then, with the Velcro attached to each one, you can place bows, floral arrangements, beads, or whatever you like. You can make these headbands in a wide version, by using the 1/2" elastic, or the narrow version by using the 1/4" elastic.
A different way to make a baby’s headband is to purchase a girls’ headband of the cloth type and place on baby’s head for measurements. Measure how many inches from one end of the headband to the other, while on baby’s head. Wrap the headband in ribbon, starting at one end, wrapping the entire head band, then ending by allowing the ribbon to reach from the last end, back to the first end, with the allowed extra measurement. This should now be a headband with a piece of ribbon attaching the two ends together. This will make it easy to place on baby’s head without worrying that baby will remove headband and injure herself. Continue decorating the headband by placing beads or bows and whatever additional embellishments you desire, onto the headband. You can use fabric glue if these are to be permanent, or use the Velcro method. Look around at your craft or sewing store for other cute ways to decorate the headbands, and your baby will be the fashion plate of the neighborhood.
To sum up, choosing the type of headband for your baby is affected by personal preference. Always choose a baby headband that is comfortable and convenient for the size of your baby’s head.
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