Braided Headbands & Flip Flops

Last week I had my sewing machine out and was mending some clothes. My daughter was digging through the fabric scrap bag and I realized that I could use those fabric scraps to teach her how to braid and then make some crafts.

So we have now made several braided headbands and a pair of braided flip flops out of some of our scrap fabric. I think they are so fun and are very simple to make.

You need only a few items:

* long fabric scraps 

- for the flip flops (youth size 13) I used 32 inch strips
- for the head band it was about 60 inches long

* hot glue (or something similar)

* elastic

* needle, thread, sewing machine

1. Cut 3 long strips of fabric (you can sew pieces together to make them long enough if needed)

2. Tie in a knot at the top and tape to the table. Braid your pieces together. We used 3 different fabrics so my 7 yr old daughter could see the individual strands to learn how to braid.

Flip Flops:

Once your braids are complete tuck the ends under and sew and back stitch the end.

Then we cleaned off an old pair of flip flops and used a hot glue gun to glue them on the straps.

Rosette:

To make the rosette for the center I used an additional scrap and twisted it around in a circle until it was as big as I wanted. I then sewed it slowly using the sewing machine. I would stop with the needle down and life up the presser foot and pivot the fabric to get the stitches in a circle. Then glue them onto the center.

Headband I:
For the multi-colored headband I used scrap fabrics from old cotton t-shirts. The fabric was soft and stretchy so I left the ends long and simply tied the ends in a knot and left the fringe hanging. This makes it very adjustable if it ever gets stretched out, not to mention cute.

Headband II:

For the second head band I used all the same color fabric and attached a large fabric rosette (as shown above).

This fabric was not stretchy so I used a small piece of elastic to connect the ends. Just place the braid around your head to see how long your elastic should be.

I laid the three fabric ends on top of each other, laid one end of the elastic on top and then folded the fabric over the elastic on each side. Sew the fabric and elastic together. Repeat on the other end to make your headband. Then sew or glue on your rosette where you want it.

Now you have a few projects to use up some of those scrap fabrics that are piling up around your house! Have fun. If you make any of your own and post them on your blog let me know. I'd love to see what you make!