Knotted Bow Headband Tutorial

September 19, 2020February 18, 2022 aschildmeier2 Comments

Have you seen the cute new knotted bow headbands in all the stores? My girls are obsessed with them and turns out they are super simple and quick to make! I made several this week for them and put together this easy tutorial so you can make them too.

You will need the following supplies:

-Basic sewing machine & sewing supplies (needle, thread, straight edge etc)

-Fabric, stretch fabric is recommended but not necessary, cut to 5″ wide and 15″ long

-Ribbon in 7/8″ width and coordinating color: 2 pieces cut to 2 inches each with ends heat sealed with a lighter to prevent fraying

-Blank plastic headband (I grabbed 1″ size here)

-Hot glue/glue gun

-PDF pattern piece below with 2 pieces of fabric cut on the fold for the knotted bow:

Headband Tutorial Pattern Piece

First, you will sew the 5″ x 15″ strip of fabric right sides together down the long side as shown clipped below. After it is sewn you will turn it right side out and set it aside.

Next, you will sew your knotted bow. You will pin or clip these right sides together and sew all the way around leaving a 2-3 inch gap (shown circled below) open. Turn this right side out through the open hole and and be sure to poke out the corners well. Then, sew the gap closed with a straight stitch and set this aside. **Please note I am not a pattern designer, this is a hand drawn pattern piece that I traced in my Silhouette software and converted to a PDF so it is not fancy but it does the job**

Next, you will assemble your headband. Slide the headband into the strip of fabric we have sewn. Be sure your seam is centered on the inside of the band. You will dab a small amount of hot glue to both ends on both inside and outside to hold the fabric in place. After that fold each side over to the outside (very important as if you fold to the inside it will hurt behind your ears) and dab glue to hold this in place. You will be sandwiching it together creating a fold/pleat on the outside as shown in the middle picture below. Finally, you will glue the pieces of grosgrain ribbon on the ends.

Your headband will look like this after gluing the fabric and ribbon on to the ends. It has a slouchy look which can be completely customized. You can adjust your fabric size to your preference to be slouchier, a more snug fit, etc.

Lastly, tie your knotted bow piece onto the headband and you are finished! This piece is also completely customizable. You can make the end pointier or more rounded or you can lengthen the piece in the middle for a longer knot (lengthening is recommended if using a non stretch fabric for your knot).

Now, go make all the headbands and have fun with it!

Sewing Tutorials

Pacifier Clip Sewing Tutorial

March 9, 2018 aschildmeierLeave a comment

Would you believe I did not know how to sew five years ago? I mean, at all. I am completely self taught over these last four to five or so years and I can not believe how much I love sewing! So, when we found out we were having another baby I knew I wanted to make as many items for her myself as possible. I am having so much fun making the basics, coming home outfits and nursery items as well! My goal is to have everything possible in her diaper bag handmade instead of store bought.

Today, I want to share a tutorial for one of those basic items with you! I made several pacifier clips to help prevent those pesky pacifiers from dropping onto the dirty germ riddled floor. This is another easy, beginner friendly, sewing tutorial that is quick and uses very little fabric. It’s a great scrap buster.

You will need the following supplies:

*Fabric: Cut to 12 inches long by 4 inches wide (1 strip per clip needed)

*Lightweight iron on interfacing (optional: adds stability but not a must)

*1/4″ or 3/8″ elastic

*1″ Suspender Clips: I order mine on e-bay but you can find these in a local craft store as well

*Basic sewing supplies and sewing machine

If you have decided to add the interfacing you will first iron that on to the wrong side of each fabric strip. You will then press the short ends in about 1/4″ or so, this is to hide the raw edges and press the fabric in half lengthwise. Next, fold each side in to the middle and press again. Use pins or clips to hold in place. This is essentially a bias tape process, see pics below.

After that you will cut your elastic and sandwich into one short end of the fabric in a loop. I used 5 inches to that they would fit both types of pacifiers but you could definitely go with 3-4″ and be fine as well.

You will then sew along all three open edges of the fabric. I went over the elastic 2-3 times to be sure it was very secure.

Your last step is to add the suspender clip to the other short end of the fabric. You will simply loop the fabric through the bar and then sew it closed. Again, go over it 2-3 times so it is very secure.

You are already finished! I made four of these in under 15 minutes from cut to finish. All you do to attach these is push the elastic loop through the end of the pacifier and then loop the entire fabric clip through the elastic and pull (making a slip knot). Clip the suspender clip onto car seat straps, etc and you are good to go! No more pacifiers falling onto filthy dirty floors!

Thanks for checking out this beginner friendly sewing tutorial! Happy sewing!

Sewing Tutorials

Critter Cuddle Sack

July 17, 2017July 17, 2017 aschildmeierLeave a comment

As if having three small children and a dog wasn’t chaotic enough we decided to add another pet to our family last month. And it isn’t just a goldfish or chia pet. We opted for a prickly, adorable, oh so shy hedgehog! We did all sorts of research on these critters beforehand and knew what to expect. We named our new friend Pepper as he is salt and pepper colored, the kids like to call him “Peps” for short.

When doing hedgehog research we learned that they like to snuggle up to sleep in or under something warm and fuzzy. We decided to make him a few snuggle sacks to sleep in and also to cuddle in when being held. Snuggle sacks are great for all kinds of small animals, not just hedgehogs!

These sacks are SUPER easy to make so we thought we would put together a simple tutorial for you! You will need the following supplies:

-Basic sewing machine & sewing supplies (needle, thread, straight edge etc)

-Snuggly soft fabric, we used flannel for the outside and fleece for the lining, you will need less than 1/2 yard per sack of each fabric depending on the size you make

-Cutting mat and rotary cutter (optional)

First, decide the size you would like your snuggle sack to be. We decided on 12″ long x 10″ wide as that is just the right size for our hedgehog to cuddle but still have room to move around. You will cut 2 pieces of each fabric 12″ x 10″ in size (4 pieces total). I cut mine using a cutting mat, rotary cutter and straight edge. You can just use scissors if you don’t have a mat and rotary.

PicsArt_07-17-03.03.43 — I have fabric cut here to make two sacks so there are 4 main and 4 lining pictured.

Once you have your 4 rectangles (2 main and 2 lining) you will place the 2 main right sides together and 2 lining right sides together. On your main fabric be sure if your print is directional that they are pinned together both facing the correct direction. You will sew the 2 sides and bottom of the main fabrics as indicated by the arrows on the photo below. You will leave the top edge open. On your lining fabric you will do the same except you will leave a couple of inches open along the bottom edge as shown by the circle on the photo below.

After sewing as indicated above you will turn your main fabric right side out and slide the lining over it so that they are right sides together with the open edges at the top on both. See photo below, I am sliding the main fabric down inside the lining.

Once they are right sides together you will clip or pin the open edge together and sew it together in a loop. Do not sew it straight across (all 4 layers) as I did the first time as you will be sewing your sack closed! The photo below shows the 2 layers clipped together all the way around forming a loop. Sew this loop together (2 layers of fabric, main & lining).

After you have sewn the top edge you will pull the sack right side out. You will do this by pulling the fabric through the open hole in the bottom of the lining. You will keep pulling until it is fully right side out (both layers).

Once it is fully right side out you will sew up the hole in the lining you left in the beginning! Just tuck your wrong sides in and sew straight across the small opening as shown by the clips in the photo below.

After sewing the hole closed you will push the lining down inside your main fabric and your snuggle sack is finished! These are so quick and easy to sew! I love this fully lined option as there are no exposed threads for Pepper to chew or unravel. I made several as they get dirty quickly in Pepper’s cage so we always have a fresh clean one when the dirty one is in the wash! I hope your little critter loves these as much as ours does!