12 Gifts of Christmas: Melted Fabric Flower Hairbands

Start out by cutting out fabric circles of varying sizes. You need to use a synthetic fabric so that it will melt (natural fibers will not melt with heat.) I found that 4-6 layers pf petals looks the best. 

Cut slits to make petals. 

This next step can be done one of two ways. You can stitch the fabric down in the center (I just stitch a "t" in the center) before you apply heat to melt the fabric or you can do it after.

You may want to stitch it down AFTER if you are using different fabrics and they have a different melt point. Just FYI - tulle & organza will melt much more quickly that rayon or acetate.

You may want to stitch down BEFORE if you are using all the same fabric. It is a little easier to stitch then all the fabric is flat.

Using a Multi-purpose Heat Gun Tool with Stand Is Perfect for Embossing, Drying Paint & More (why does Amazon have to have such a long title for this link - Hmmmm!), you will melt the the flower starting with the edges (you can do this over a flame but quite tedious and you risk it catching fire).

I found it was easier if I used something to hold down the center of the flower so that the hot air did not flower it around and I didn't burn my fingers.

Start by melting the edges of all, then after you remove the item holding it in place and slightly melt the center.

Here you can see a close up after the stitching and melting were complete.

The next step is to hand stitch it to a headband (you could try hot gluing, but I find stitching last longer) and stitch some beads in to place as well. You could hot glue beads or some other ornamentation in the center if you didn't want to hand sew.

Here are a couple head bands I made as a gift for the holiday season for my daughter and her friend. I wanted them to have almost matching (the green beads are different, so they know who's is who's) headbands.

Here is a close up of the one that is at the top of the post. I made this one for me because I wanted to have one that coordinated with my daughter's (she's still young enough that she thinks it is great when we match!) and add the beads to make it look like a snowflake inside. This is my Christmas headband,

I made this one to go with my dress for my BIL and new SIL's wedding. I wore a black and hot pink dress. I made my daughter a Tutu Dress that was hot pink and used leftover tulle from that in this headband.

This is one that I made for myself using a flame (yes, over a candle).

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