April 1 Hour Make: Alice Band Tutorial

I am hoping this might become a regular feature - small projects to make for an hour or less. First in the series is an Alice band for everyone who is between fringes, and for those that like hair accessories!

What you Need:

Some fabric scraps at least 42cm long. You could use contrasting fabric for the bow.

Elastic {6mm braided} or similar

Usual sewing accessories: needle, thread, sewing machine.

How to:

1. Cut out three pieces of fabric as follows.

2. With right sides together, pin the long piece lengthways and sew along the outer seam, leaving a 0.5 cm seam allowance.

 3. Turn the right way round and press with an iron. This may take some time, and you may need a pencil or knitting needle to help you.

4.  To make the bow, fold the 15 x 12cm fabric in half, right sides together {so that it is 7.5 x 6cm}. Sew around two of the raw edges, leaving the last one as it is for turning.

5. Clip the corners where you have sewn, then turn the right way round. Either hand finish or machine sew the last side, by tucking some of the fabric inside and top sewing. At this point I tied the centre of this with a piece of ribbon to make the bow.

6. With the smallest, and final piece of fabric. press in 0.5 cm of fabric from the longest side and then sew - don't worry about the edges being raw.

7. Then with the right sides together, pin the two unsewn edges together and sew across {making a small tube}. Open out the seam and press open. Turn right side round - this should be so much easier than for the long tube! Then either slide it into the centre of the bow or wrap it round {whichever you like best} Secure it by a few hand stitches.

8. Take one end of the headband piece, tuck a little fabric back into the tube, insert the elastic so that at least 1 cm is inside the tube, and then top sew across this end, securing the elastic. I sewed across three times.

9. Do the same for the other end, ensuring that neither the headband or elastic are twisted.

10. Attach the bow as desired - I put mine at a rakish angle on the sides! Secure in place with some hand stitching.

Et Voila

Alterations:

If you are making this for a child, which let's face it - you probably are, you can adjust the length. What you are aiming for is the fabric part reaching at least behind the ears and the elastic to be a little taut when worn. You can also vary the thickness of the fabric and embellish with ribbons, beads or not at all!

Love Mrs Jones x