The scrunchies are back!
I tend to consider myself a borderline 80's girl because I was born in the 80's, but I was pretty young at the time so I didn't fully experience it like others may have. One of the fads that really stuck around in my house, though, was the hair scrunchie! I have three older sisters and we all had long hair and were pretty active, so scrunchies were an everyday part of life. We had a big blue bin of hair scrunchies we all shared (although we'd kind of stash our favorites in other places), and I even remember my sisters teaching me how to make them.
So imagine my delight (and surprise) when I saw hair scrunchies are on trend again! It's pretty common now to see teen girls wearing them in a low, loose ponytail. That's not how we used to wear them, but it works! And if you're reading this blog post, there's a good chance you know a girl or two who is wanting some fabulous hair scrunchies of her own. So let's get started!
The first task is to decide which method you want to use: 1) Using a purchased hair elastic, or 2) using 1/4" wide sewing elastic. Both work just fine and I grew up using the second method so it's definitely fine. However, the first method is one I came up with on my own just recently (although I probably wasn't the first person to do it) and it's by far my favorite. Because I had long thick hair, my scrunchies were always sagging so I always had to put in a hair elastic underneath my scrunchie - or wrap two of them together to get them to stay up. But this first method does away with that! I took my favorite hair elastic that is nice and stretchy but still tight, and I sewed the scrunchie fabric right around it. (No, I didn't have to cut the elastic! I'll show you how... ) It stays in my hair much better! But if you're a traditionalist and want to make a scrunchie using supplies in your sewing room rather than your makeup bag, you're welcome to choose the second method! They're very similar and end up looking about the same. I'll go through both way step-by-step so you won't have to do any flipping back and forth. Here goes!
Using Your Favorite Hair Elastic
First of all, grab one of your favorite large hair elastics. My favorite is the Goody Ouchless found in most local stores and online.
Cut a rectangle of fabric that measures 4" x 18". It can be knit or woven fabric.
(Scrunchies are great for using scraps!)
Lay the fabric out flat. Find the centers of the long edges and fold them with right sides together, bringing the edges around to meet inside the hair elastic. Pin the two fabric layers together in place at that point, as shown above. (The pin should not pierce the hair elastic.)
Move over about 1" and match the fabric edges, keeping it flat, and place another pin at that point.
Slide the pinned fabric over and continue placing pins 1" apart as you pin the two long edges together inside the hair elastic. This may look difficult to do, but it really is not if you do just one inch at a time.
Continue pinning all around the fabric until the edges are fully pinned. As you get toward the ends, it may be easier to rotate so the pinned raw edges are around the outside, as shown above.
Take it to your sewing machine and sew the pinned raw edges, using a 3/8" seam allowance, removing the pins as you go.
When you're done with this step, it should look something like the photo above.
Now you're ready to turn the fabric right side out! To do so, insert a safety pin into the seam allowance on one end. Place it back away from the edges a bit so it won't tear through. It should look something like the photo above.
Turn the safety pin and insert it into its own side of the scrunchie loop, as shown above.
Push the safety pin through the loop, bunching up the fabric as needed. It will eventually come out the other end.
Gently pull the safety pin out and use it to guide the rest of the scrunchie through, until it is all right side out.
When it is right side out, it should look something like the photo above.
Remove the safety pin. On each raw end of the scrunchie, turn the edges 1/4" to the inside and create a fold using your fingers, all the way around both loops. This will hide the raw edges. See photo above.
Take one of the ends and insert it into the hole of the other end. Make sure both sides stay folded in, with no raw edges showing. See photo above. Pin in place.
Now you have two options for sewing the scrunchie shut:
Option 1: Take it to your sewing machine and sew a straight line across the overlapped folds. This does create a "flat" line there but it isn't very noticeable and is a much quicker method. (This is how I did it in the photo above.)
~ OR ~
Option 2: Use a needle and thread to sew the layers together where they overlap, around the loop. This is more tedious and takes longer, but it does eliminate the flat line, if you care about that. (I have done this for a satin one that was more "dainty" because I didn't want a line on it.)
If you have never used a needle and thread by hand before, this blog post (click here) may be helpful.
After you have sewn the folds together, you are done! Way to go!
If you want to see the second method as well, keep on reading below:
Using 1/4" Wide Elastic
First, cut a rectangle of fabric that measures 4" x 18". It can be knit or woven fabric.
(Scrunchies are great for using scraps!)
Then, cut a piece of 1/4" wide elastic that is 6" long.
Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, with right sides together. Sew along the long edges using a 3/8" seam allowance, as shown above.
Now you're ready to turn the fabric right side out. To do so, insert a safety pin into the seam allowance on one end. Place it back away from the edges a bit so it won't tear through. It should look something like the photo above.
Turn the safety pin and insert it into its own side of the scrunchie. Push the safety pin through the tube, bunching up the fabric as needed. It will eventually come out the other end, as shown above.
Gently pull the safety pin out and use it to guide the rest of the scrunchie through, until it is all right side out.
Take the safety pin off the fabric and put it in one end of the elastic now.
Thread the safety pin through the tube, being sure to hold onto the end of the elastic so it doesn't get lost inside.
When it comes out the other end, you should have both ends of the elastic, with the fabric scrunched up between them, as shown above.
Overlap the elastic ends by about 1/2" and use a straight pin to hold them together.
Take it to your sewing machine and sew back and forth across the overlapped elastic to secure the ends to each other.
On each raw end of the scrunchie, turn the edges 1/4" to the inside and create a fold using your fingers, all the way around both loops. This will hide the raw edges. See photo above.
Take one of the ends and insert it into the hole of the other end. Make sure both sides stay folded in, with no raw edges showing. See photo above. Pin in place.
Now you have two options for sewing the scrunchie shut:
Option 1: Take it to your sewing machine and sew a straight line across the overlapped folds. This does create a "flat" line there but it isn't very noticeable and is a much quicker method. (This is how I did it in the photo above.)
~ OR ~
Option 2: Use a needle and thread to sew the layers together where they overlap, around the loop. This is more tedious and takes longer, but it does eliminate the flat line, if you care about that. (I have done this for a satin one that was more "dainty" and I didn't want a line.)
If you have never used a needle and thread by hand before, this blog post (click here) may be helpful.
After you have sewn the folds together, you are done! Way to go!
Now you can make a zillion more!
We can't wait to see the hair scrunchies you make with our tutorial. Please come share your finished photos in our patterns group on Facebook! We'd love to hear which method you like better and see your cute photos. And of course we're happy to answer any questions you might have.
Let's Create! ~ Kristen
