Lately, I've been wanting to make some headbands for my Andie, so I ordered some fold over elastic by-the-yard from Fabric Hound and some nice wool-blend felt in fun colors from BenzieBazaar on Etsy. It all came the other day, so I couldn't wait to get started! I thought it would be cute to do a variation of a yo-yo, but in felt. I am so happy with how it came out! Here's how I did it:
Felt Flower Headband Tutorial
Start out by cutting 2 circles from contrasting colors of felt, 1 large and 1 small. My large circle was about 4" across, and the smaller about 3 1/4", but you can make them as large or as small as you like. Small bowls, mugs and other circular objects are great to trace around. Fold in half and cut out a hole in the center of each circle, making a donut. Don't worry about making the inside circles perfect - it won't matter since they will be hidden completely. Be sure to save the donut hole from the large circle - you'll need it at the end!
Now, put a running stitch around the center of the large circle, keeping close to the edge. The size of your stitches will affect the ruffles (larger & fewer stitches = deeper ruffles, smaller and more stitches = more shallow ruffles)- mine were about 1/4" or so. Be sure to overlap the first stitch with your last.
Once you've stitched all the way around the center, GENTLY pull on the thread to collapse the felt and create the lovely ruffles! (Feel free to pause and admire your work. :) While holding the thread tight, put a knot as close as you can to the felt. This is a little tricky, but it is important to hold the thread as tight as you can to keep the hole in the center as small as possible. Don't worry if you end up with a small hole, though. You just want to avoid a big one. Repeat with the smaller felt donut.
Stack the smaller donut on top of the larger one, lining up the centers. Now, you can use hot glue at this point to attach the flower layers together, or you can stitch them together at the centers. If you do use glue, just use a small amount around the center holes so it doesn't show between the layers. It's important, though to keep the center holes clear, because you will need to stitch through them in the next step. Cut out a small circle (about nickel sized - large enough to cover the hole in the center of your ruffled donuts). Glue (or stitch, as shown below) the small circle you just cut on top of the two donuts.
Cut several tiny circles (if you're not tired of cutting circles by now, you should be :) to make the center detail of the flower. Using embroidery thread, knot the thread and come up through the center of the stacked donuts from the back of the flower. Spear one of your tiny circles, and send the needle back through the center of the flower close to same spot. Pull the thread through until the tiny circle is snug against the center, then repeat for the remaining tiny circles, clustering them close together.
Cut two leaf shapes (I used two different colors). Fold one of the leaves in half, and using a matching thread, stitch tight, small stitches down the spine of the leaf starting at the base and stopping about 3/4 of the way down. The idea is to create a slight crease.
Knot the thread and send the needle back under several of the stitches before cutting the thread to hide the tail. This will be the backside of the leaf.
You can stitch the second leaf in the same way, but I just left mine flat. Here is a view of the finished leaf:
Stack the leaves, staggering them slightly and hot glue them to the back of the flower near the center. Then cut your elastic to the desired size. I made mine 14" to fit an infant. Hot glue the ends of the elastic to the center of the back of the flower on top of the leaves. Finally, hot glue the donut hole (see - I told you that you'd need it!) to the center covering the edges of the elastic and leaves.
Ta-da! Now, go find a cute baby so you can admire your work!
