DIY Headband (from an old belt!)

Got an old belt that just doesn't fit? Do you love it? Transform it! Here's how:

You will need:
- Scissors
- Black pen
- Glue (super glue or fabric glue; I'm using a hot glue for demonstration)
- Belt
- Elastic or stretchy headband (if you want a hard headband, it's easier to make the headband)
- white pencil (not pictured)
- bobby pins (not pictured)

Now that you know what you need, let's get started... (P.S. These photos were taken with my phone, so they're not very good in quality. My apologies!)

First, wrap the belt around your head so you know how much of it you actually need. Mark on it with a pen or marker where it exceeds the length you desire, then cut there. I recommend you cut at each end of the belt so you no longer have the buckle or the rounded other end. The length you desire needs to be shorter than you head so you can make the elastic work. If you are making a hard head band, just glue the belt (with each end cut) to the headband and cut where the hard headband stops on each side. If you made the hard headband, you're done. If you are making an elastic one like I did, continue reading.

When both ends are cut so the belt is just a tad shorter that the actual roundness of your head, slip the elastic on your head like a headband. Lay the headband over the top of your head to cover it and use the bobby pins to pin the two together. When they're connected, take them off your head together.

This is how it should look.

Next, look at where the end of the cut belt is. Color a line with your white pencil (or if you have a light-colored elastic, use a dark pen, pencil, or marker).  That should be about 1 inch away from your bobby pin. Do this step to both ends of the cut belt.

Cut the elastic just past where the bobby pin connected the elastic to the belt. Keep in mind, the white line is drawn to show where the edge of the belt is. Do not remove the bobby pin yet. Do the same with the other side. This way you can save the rest of the elastic for another headband you might want to make later!

Now you can remove the bobby pins. This is what you should have. Pay close attention to the next steps below.

Turning the side of the white line into the non-decorative side of the belt, glue that entire inch of elastic (starting from where the white line touches the very end of the belt). 

The photo above shows you how that should be glued. Only that inch-or-so where the white line and the previous bobby pin revealed is to be glued to the non-decorative side of the headband. Repeat with the other edge of the belt and elastic. Make sure the elastic is not twisted and is done the same way (only that inch is glued)!

When both ends of the belt are glued, this should be the result.

Tah-dah! Not too shabby! Wear the headband with the elastic underneath so it is less seen. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you found this useful. Please feel free to comment any requests or questions you might have!
-Lydia

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