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How to Make a Braided Padded Headband

Padded, braided, and knotted headbands are very trendy right now! Learn how to make a braided, padded headband with our free sewing pattern & tutorial.

girl wearing blue braided headband in front of brick wall

I always joke that my best ideas come from my kids. I think I need to stop joking, as many of them come from my kids.

Several years ago I made a set of fabric headbands out of Liberty fabrics to take on a trip to London with me. My daughter was looking at them recently and asked me if I could make a similar headband but with braided fabric. Also, she wanted it “puffy”.

two girls wearing white shirts and colorful braided headbands

Happy to take on the challenge, I figured out how to make braided headbands, and am happy to share with you how to do it today.

About the Headbands

These headbands are made by braiding 3 pieces of sewn fabric together and gluing them to a purchased headband.

girl wearing blue shirt leaning on wall

They are lightly padded. We didn’t want them to be too “poofy” so just went with one layer of fusible fleece as the lining.

What Fabric Should I Use?

two girls wearing headbands outdoors

I used Liberty Lawn fabric. Liberty lawns are high-quality cotton fabrics that are a bit more lightweight than traditional quilting cotton fabrics. The threads are finely woven giving the fabric a nice finish and sheen.

You could use quilting cotton or silk for this project as well. I plan to make some of an older silk scarf I own. If you make them with silk, I recommend adding a layer of Shape Flex interfacing to the fabric before you adhere it to the fusible fleece.

profile view of girl wearing headband outdoors

Video Instructions

I’ve created a short video walking you through some of the steps to create the headbands.

We have also uploaded the video tutorial to the Polka Dot Chair YouTube Channel.

Supplies Required

  • One Fat Quarter of Fabric
  • Fusible fleece (piece at least 8″ x 20″)
  • Heavy Duty Thread – I used Mettler Cordonette
  • Hot Glue Gun & Glue
  • Turning Tubes (not required but make the job so much easier)
  • Purchased Headband (these are the ones we used)

 

girl wearing blue braided headband in front of brick wall

Braided Padded Headband Sewing Pattern

Melissa Mortenson
Learn how to make a stylish braided padded headband.
4.50 from 2 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Active Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

supplies

  • 1 Fat Quarter Fabric If you want your headband made from 3 different fabrics, you'll need to buy 3 fat quarters.
  • 1 Piece Fusbile Fleece At least 8" x 20"
  • 1 Spool Heavy Duty Thread I used METTLER Cordonette
  • 1 1" Wide Headband These are the headbands I used, any 1" headband will work.
  • 1 Yard 1" wide satin ribbon

Instructions
 

Cutting

  • From Fabric Cut:
    3 pieces each 2 1/2" x 20"
    From Fusible Fleece Cut:
    3 pieces each 2 1/2" x 20"

Prep

  • Apply fusible fleece to the wrong side of all 3 pieces of fabric

Sewing

  • Fold the fabric piece in half right sides facing and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance down the long side and one short side. Repeat with other two pieces of fabric.
    3 pieces of fabric on gray cutting mat
  • Using a tube turner, or another method. Turn the fabric right side out.
    tube turner in fabric
  • To use the tube turner, insert the wider tube into the sewn fabric. Use the smaller piece to push the sewn short end of the fabric into the tube.
    hand holding tube turner
  • Keep pushing the fabric into the tube until it is right side out.
    hand holding tube turner
  • Press with the seam allowance in the center. Make sure your seam allowance is flat.

Assembly

  • Sew the 3 strips together along one end. This will help you braid the fabric.
    3 strips of fabric sewn together
  • Clip the sewn end of the strips to the end of a quilt ruler. Begin braiding the same way you would braid hair. When you get to the end, secure with another clip and sew the ends together.
    braided fabric on cutting mat
  • Using hot glue, glue one end of the braided fabric to the end of the purchased headband.
  • After the glue has cooled, use heavy-duty thread to wrap the ends of the fabric around the end of the headband. Wrap the thread about 3/4" to 1" up from the end of the headband.
    hand holding headband
  • Glue the fabric to the headband, you may need to stretch the braided fabric a bit to get it to "mold" over the headband.
  • When you get to the other end, wrap the end with heavy-duty thread.
    hand holding headband
  • Cut a piece of 1" wide satin ribbon to about 1 1/2". Glue it over the tip of the headband.
    hand holding headband
  • Wrap another piece of ribbon around the end of the headband so that it covers the raw edges of the ribbon and the thread. Glue in place on the back of the headband. Trim away any excess ribbon.
    hand holding floral headband with sewing notions
  • The heat from the glue will finish the ends of the ribbon so you don't need to worry about the ribbon fraying
    hand holding floral headband with sewing notions
Keyword Accessories, Sewing
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Love this tutorial? Get the behind the scenes on Instagram

 

two girls wearing headbands outdoors

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