The Massive Headband Project or Up All Night Beading for Blythe

Mission : 100 headbands for the BlytheCon 2012 Dallas goodie bags

This is by far the largest project I've undertaken for Blythe-- 100 headbands for the goodie bags for BlytheCon 2012 in Dallas.  Even when I worked as a professional seamstress, I worked in theatrical costuming, not production line work.  And true to my nature there are not many of these headbands that are identical.

Wow!  There are soooo many!

I'm going to need a lot more outfits to go with all of these...

Examples of headband types: top 2 are beaded, bottom left is the classic girl style, and bottom right is the ribbon weave style.

There are 3 basic styles types:  the little girl classics, bead and pearls on wire, and ribbon weave wrapped.  Okay, so those are just examples, 'cause like I said, there really are no two exactly alike.  Well, the little girl classics have several in each type.  Those are headbands that I bought at the popular girl's store Justice for Girls and then shrunk down to Blythe size.  The beaded ones have faux pearls and glass beads on memory wire, but some are all pearls or have shells and a few have real gemstones like turquoise or peridot.

The ribbon ones took by far the longest to make.  First off, I had to order all the stuff to make them online, because it's not available here, even though this is a pretty major market area.  Then I had to shrink down all those headbands.  Next cut the ribbon into 1/2 yard lengths and attach to the end of the headband.  Then weave the ribbon and finish off the end.  An finally, attach the bow decoration.  They came out super cute, though.

I'm going to list a few in my Etsy shop, if you want one.  I can make them with specific colors to match an outfit for you.  Or try making one yourself!

Here are a few hints:  there is a post in my blog about shrinking headbands.  The additional comments I have are that the time it takes in the boiling water to soften the headband really depends on the type of plastic and thickness of the headband, so pay attention and have patience.  In general, the thin, flat headbands that I bought for weaving onto only took about 30 - 40 seconds in the water.  Also, I did many at a time, and I always ended up with a headache after, so I think that toxic fumes must be released in the steam.  Ventilate the area well!

There are some good videos on ribbon weaving on YouTube.  Here is one on Viddler.



It does take a bit of patience to figure out the weave pattern.  I finished off the end with the ribbon weave pattern and a glue gun, not with the burn/seal method used in the video.  And use 1/4 inch wide ribbon!  The commonly available 3/8 inch wide ribbon is too big to make a tight weave, and the 1/8 inch is too narrow.  The 1/4 inch is getting hard to find.  When did they decide to stop making that?!  It seems to be the size I'm always looking for.

Here are some of my favorites that I made for myself.  These may turn up in my Etsy shop, too.

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Super cute cherry blossom print on this ribbon!

I just LOVE this one!  I think it is my personal fav.  She looks great!

Not quite done with this project, but almost!  Then we have a few more things to do to be fully ready!  Totally gearing up for BlytheCon and Dallas!  We're pretty excited about the hotel, too.  The Gaylord looks great!  Awesome swimming area!  We'll be hanging by the pool for a few days before the event.  And we have a few goodies to give away, too.  So look for us there!

2 Months To Go!!!

Dallas or Bust!