5 Strand Braided Headband Tutorial

This tutorial explains how to do a 5 strand braid and how to make it into a headband.  I've seen these on newborns, kids and even adults.  They are pretty versatile. The best thing about this project is that it is free.  All you need is an old t-shirt to cut up and a hot glue gun.

1) Pick out a t-shirt you want to cut up.
2) Cut 5 strips 1/3" to 2" wide depending on how thick you wan the headband to be.  The length should be close to double the length of the head size.  My six-month-old measures 17" and my two-year-old is 18" around.  I would suggest a couple inches smaller for a newborn.
3) Lay all the strips flat on top of each other and glue or sew them there.  I used a hot glue gun.
4) Braid it.  This is the hardest step.  You might want to make the below picture bigger to understand how to do the braid.

I numbered the strands to make things clearer.  In The first picture I just separated all the strands out.  Then Take strand 1 (most left strand) and cross it over strand 2.  Then take strand 3 (middle strand) and cross it over strand 1.  The you do the same thing but opposite on the other side.  Take strand 5 and cross it over strand 4.  Then take strand 1 (the new middle strand) and cross it over strand 5.  Start the sequence again with the first picture and continue until you reach the desired length.

5) Cut out a 1" by 2" piece of fabric from the shirt.
6) Glue the edges in on itslef.
7) Glue the end of the braid and cut off the strands.
8) Glue or sew the two ends of the braid together.
9) Glue or sew one end of the fabric to the back of the headband.
10) Glue or sew the other end onto the back.  Make sure not to glue the front so there is a place to put a clip. And you are done.

 Above is the thinner one I made for Penelope.

Here I made a thicker one for Scarlett.  As you can see this can be worn with or without a bow clipped onto it.