Easy Upcycled "Silk" Fabric Flower Headband

I love the look of this headband. 

It's classy and really elegant but I just couldn't justify spending that amount right now. So, the hunt for a tutorial on how to make these beautiful flowers began! I found lots, but most had many steps that I felt I could exclude, so once I had the procedure down--which I got from this blog--I set out to make my own (less elegant than my inspirational photo above) silk flower headband.

First I found some scraps of silky material (these melt correctly). And cut them into squares (somewhat) in different sizes.

Next, I rounded them off. 

Now, I took a flame that I had direct access to (a tea light) and held my circles near the flame. The heat started curling the edges. Note: have a dish of water near in case you need it, but I never held the material through the flame so had no problem. The closer you hold the material to the flame, the more dramatic the edges will curl and you may get a singed edge. I liked that look, so I held mine close.

You will now have these:

Stack them as you like.

I hand-sewed an imperfect asterisk on mine, using black thread, but a couple of stitches would hold these.

I then sewed a button to the center, although anything would work—pretty sequins, beads, pins, etc. 

I buy plain elastic headbands to embellish when they are on sale, but I actually prefer the trick I came up with below when I was trying to make a t-shirt scarf. I feel this is softer on my baby's head, and it's free.

Cut a strip from a t-shirt.

Perfection is not required.

Now, take each end and pull as much as it will stretch. You will have a soft strip perfect for a baby headband. If you cut your strip thicker, it would be great for older kids or even adults, too.

I just wrap it around my baby's head and add about an inch and cut it. She is nearly 5 months and I generally cut 15 inches. I put a small dab of hot glue to close the strip into a circle, then I take a small piece of excess fabric and wrap it around the seam and hot glue it. 

Next, I used scrap felt and placed it on the back of my flower, then hot glued it to the band.

I like to finish it with a piece of felt to cover the back and make it smooth for baby's head. I just used an old scrap.

And here it is:

I think, for my first attempt, it came out great!  It's such a great feeling to finish a successful upcycle made completely from items I already own. 

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of it in action. Happy Friday!