I sort of combined these two pins to make my very own version of a headband for Macie. This really was a fairly quick project. I think the entire thing took me about 15 minutes once I gathered everything I needed.
Remember I used the zipper from my hoodie, but you can really use any long zipper. One side of the zipper will make one flower. Unzip the zipper so you have two pieces and then choose the one you want to work with. I know it's a tough decision, but I have faith you can do it! Now cut off the hard plastic at the bottom of the zipper and take the zipper pull off (if its on the side you are using). So far so good?
You don't need to keep the zipper pull or the plastic pieces that you cut off - so throw them out and start de-cluttering!
Okay now it's time to make the flower so go and get some thread that matches your zipper and a needle that will go through the zipper. Thread your needle with a nice long piece of thread so that you have enough for the entire flower. I speak from experience here.
Basically you want to do some long baste stitches into the end of the zipper, moving towards the middle, keeping the stitches loose (#1). As you continue to stitch the zipper, slowly pull the thread tighter and the zipper will start to curl up to form your "petals" (#2). Continue to stitch the zipper, periodically pulling the thread tighter as you go. Once you've reached the end of the zipper, you can sort of shape the "petals" of the flower that you have. Stitch them down into place to keep them from moving. This is one of the reasons you want the longer thread when you start. I stitched my petals down in the back and under the petals so most of the stitches didn't show as much (#3). Now that you are all stitched down, go get a piece of scrap fabric - it can be anything you want, but I would suggest the same color as your zipper. I used a scrap of jersey from a t-shirt. Cut out a circle that you can glue to the back of the flower - now grab your trusty hot glue gun and glue that sucker on the back of the flower (#4-5). You have a finished flower! It looks a little blah though doesn't it? (#6) Yeah, I thought so too, so I found a cute little button and glued it into the center and now it looks so much better! (#7)
This next part is a cinch. I had some fancy elastic that I had bought specifically for headbands, but really all you need is some wide elastic. I measured Macie's head to make sure I was cutting it the right length - I cut the elastic one inch smaller than her head measured (#1). I stitched the elastic together, overlapping it slightly to make sure that it was nice and secure (#2). The sewing machine made quick (like 2 seconds) work of this, but if you don't keep your sewing machine out on your dining room table like Because I do some many posts about Macie I thought it was time to show you what it is really like to try to get a good picture of her being still. These are just SOME of the pictures that I took for this post.
Yup, I think by the end of her little photo shoot she was done. I mean, the poor kid was crying to Winnie the Pooh about it!! I need to make sure she's happy though, I would hate for her to want to renegotiate her modeling contract with me :)
