Monday I wrote about “How to Make your Own Locking Shoelaces,” and I told you not to throw out the old laces. Today I’m here to tell you why! Take those old laces or buy new ones from someplace like The Dollar Tree and turn them into this super cute and sporty headband.
I don’t know about you, but one of my pet peeves is when little hairs fall into my face when I’m running. Recently, I cut longer bangs and they are just not quite long enough to fit into the ponytail holder, so I wear either a clip or a headband every time I run. For me, running is like a moving meditation and so I try to stay free of as many distractions as I can. I guess that’s why I love trail running so much – less to think about.
This project was so easy that my kids made them as well. Now, they are searching all over the house for old shoelaces. My daughter has just started getting into doing her hair and is finding all kinds of cute styles to wear this with. Plus, because this requires braiding, it is helping her practice on something other than me! The more headbands she makes, the better she is at braiding her own hair.
If hair tickling your face is a major bother, why not upcycle those old laces into this very easy DIY Headband?
What I liked
I’m not a fan of throwing out things into landfills and also not a fan of wasting. I love this project because repurposing is awesome and making it into something I will use on a weekly basis makes me happy. I would normally buy a few headbands to use so this saves us a little money. I think it looks really cute and it did great job of keeping the hair out of my eyes when I ran. Last, I love that it’s easy enough to keep my kids busy on a rainy day.
What I didn’t like
This was a fairly easy project but when I tried to do a four strand braid it was too complicated and it didn’t turn out that great. Once I changed to a fishtail braid, I was much happier and it looked nicer. The other tough part was attaching one side of the headband to the elastic. One side has a loop, so it was really easy, but the other side took some maneuvering to get right. Overall, it turned out great and I’m very happy with the result.
What you will need
One pair of shoelaces
3-5 inches of 1/4 inch elastic
Glue Gun or Needle and Thread
What to do
If you are using old shoelaces, start by throwing them into the washing machine or give them a good handwash in the sink. Allow them to dry.
1- Lay your shoelaces out on a table so that they are flat and even lengths.
2- Fold laces in half, so that the lengths are totally even. You should now being holding it from the middle.
3-If you can, hang them on the refrigerator with a magnetic clip like this one shown in the picture.
4- FISHTAIL BRAID- Divide your four strands into two.
5- Take the outside lace and move it to the center and then repeat on the other side. It’s that easy.
6- Repeat this all the way down.
7-Tie the end in a knot.
8- Place the headband on your head to measure how much elastic to cut. You want the elastic to be tight, so make it slightly smaller than the distance needed.
9- Cut the elastic.
10- You could glue gun the elastic to both sides or use a needle and thread. I cut my elastic a little longer and looped it around the two holes on the ends.
