Black Lace Headband Tutorial

I did a white lace headband tutorial a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to see what other looks I could create from lace. If you explore the 'by the yard' lace and fabric trimmings aisle at your local craft store, you can find a lot of awesome headband materials. It's crazy how cheap it is to make a classy headband. And it really doesn't take long at all. 

Materials needed:

• black lace (I actually found the exact lace online! Yay! It wasn't this expensive at all--I paid around $1.50 for 13 inches)
• thread
• needle
• scissors
• ruler/measuring tape (if you feel it's necessary)
• elastic (1/2 inch braided) 

Now, I don't have exact measurements for you since every head is a different size. For your lace, measure your head from ear to ear. I just put the lace on my head and guess the length. No need to really measure. For the elastic, the length depends on how tight you want your head band. My white lace headband was too tight, so I decided to cut a little more slack in my elastic. I cut roughly 8 inches of elastic for this headband. 

To determine your elastic length, you can try my method of putting the lace on your head how you want it. Secure the points behind your ears with your middle fingers. Then, stretch the elastic across the back of your head with your thumbs and pointer fingers. It's kind of awkward, but it gets the job done. Pinch the elastic at the length that feels comfortable, then cut. 

Thread your needed. I fold the lace on each side so that it is the same width as the elastic. Place your elastic on the back of the lace and begin sewing a crap-ton of stitches. If you are picky, you can use black thread so the messy stitches aren't noticeable, but as you can see from my gray thread, I really don't mind exposed messy stitches.

The sewing isn't an exact science. Sew until you think it's tight, then give a tug. If anything rips or tears, then you should probably keep sewing. I'm sure if you are handy with a sewing machine you can whip this headband up in no time, but hand stitching works just fine for me. Once you sew on side, repeat on the other side of the headband. You can double check the tightness before you sew the second side. I think I trimmed a quarter inch off of my elastic at this point.

This headband actually stays on my head if I wear my hair down. I'm pretty impressed with that. As always, leave comments or questions below!