Knotted Elastic Headbands / Hair Ties

I found an old notebook from high school this week. It was from an English class we had to carry these notebooks and write down all the random things that spoke to us. I can't remember the duration of the assignment, but I was impressed by the amount of things I had written and pasted. It made me smile at the things that spoke to my heart. Then I wonder why I can't do better at documenting the great things my kids do and say. Surely I'm more put together than 15 year old me. I think I'm going to add that to my self resolutions. I hope to never forget things like yesterday when the turkey came in and said that his brother was mad at him and when I asked why he said "DUH!" I tell ya the child makes up for his difficulties with spunk.

So a while back I posted my first guess the picture contest. It was here if you missed it. This is the picture I posted:

So what was it? If you guessed a roll of elastic you were right. It's a roll of fold over elastic to be a bit more specific. Congrats to Emily for chiming in with the first correct answer. She can get a set of her own items like we're making today or a gift certificate. Seeings as how she has an custom order in the works I think I can predict her choice.

All of a sudden these knotted headband/hair ties are all the rage. They are an exercise in simplicity. A cut of fold over elastic (FOE) tied in a knot at the end and you have a stretchy, no pull, crease less headband or hair tie. Of course you can buy them from any of the lovely shops that make them, but if you're anything like me you refuse to pay for simple and inexpensive when you can do it yourself. I have a giant roll of elastic. I think my roll came from Very Baby, but you can find it in many places online and even Joann's carries it in the diaper making supplies.

My roll of elastic is white, so I had to start by dying my elastic to make it more fun. I love the fiber reactive dyes from Dharma, but if you have some Rit or Dylon handy use that too. The key is to follow the dye instructions, pre-wash your elastic, and make sure your elastic has a high enough cotton (natural fiber) content to soak up the dye.

I happen to have some dye still in jars so I tossed my FOE into said jar and watched the color take hold.

I didn't let it sit for long because I was aiming for a more minty color. But once dyed and washed I tied a knot and snipped the ends at an angle. I also had a little piece left of some cute polka dots FOE that I made into a hair tie.

I probably wouldn't run out and buy a ton of supplies for this, but since I already have all these things on hand it made for a quick low investment project. Plus then I had something to keep my new bangs out of my face during my workout this morning.