Just when we almost forgot about there existence, scrunchies have made a huge comeback in 2019. They’ve taken over, one high pony at a time. Not only are they the perfect hair accessory, but they also make a cute wrist piece! You can find them at all your favorite stores like Target, Urban Outfitters, Pacsun, etc. One thing I have noticed with the new trend is the prices of these beauties. A four-pack of these average at about $13. I will admit, this price isn’t terrible, but why not seek the cheaper option? As a college student money can be tight, so I set out on a mission: make my scrunchies! Even though you’re only saving a few bucks, by doing a DIY of your own you get the privilege of picking out the color or pattern you love! Plus, you have yourself a fun new activity to even further procrastinate on that paper due tomorrow.
You may be asking: what do I need? I headed to Walmart and found a small compact sewing kit for about $2. Online there is one as low as $2.46! Next, you will need a braided elastic band, which you can also find at Walmart for $2.28. You will need scissors as well, any pair you have at home will do. Now for the best part: choosing the fabric! This could be a good opportunity to thrift some vintage fabric, but I could not find anything that caught my eye, so I headed to Joann’s. There I found that they sell fabric quarters for $2.99! As you can see below there is a rainbow of fabrics to choose from. Joann was having a sale the day I went, and they were each 99₵! So, I snagged three of course!
Courtesy: Vanessa Valles
Once you are ready to start the project, the first step is to open the fabric and lay it on a flat surface. Since Joann’s folds the quarter fabrics, I use the fold crease to my advantage. I cut long ways up to three “squares” and after cutting you should have a long rectangle of fabric. You then fold this piece in half, making it a skinnier rectangle. Next, you are going to pick a color thread that is most similar in color to your fabric. The mini sewing kit comes with a variety of thread colors. Now for the hardest step: starting the stitch. It’s important to make sure you grab a long piece of thread or you will have to start another stitch when you run out. Now you don’t have to use this method, but I found this way a little cleaner than a regular straight stitch. Once your stitch is started you can start sewing. I put my needle through the fabric and grabbed it on the other side and brought it back around and repeated (as shown below). I did this down the whole open edge of the fabric. I then tied a knot with the thread to end the stitch.
Courtesy: Pinterest
You should now have a sewn tube. From here if you used a straight stitch, you can turn the tube inside out to hide the stitched a bit. Now you take the elastic band and measure it around a part of your wrist and then give a couple more inches before cutting, or else it will be too small. I didn’t like how thick my elastic band was, so I cut it in half up the middle of it, this makes it easier to tie. Next, you run the band through your tube, scrunching up the fabric in the process. Once you have both ends of the elastic poking out the openings, you are going to tie a knot with them (see below). Then you are going to tuck one end of your tube into the other. Now you sew where you tucked the fabric, I used a straight stitch this time because I don’t have an edge to go around like last time. Once again, the stitching doesn’t have to be perfect, it just must do the job. Once you finish that you are all done!
Courtesy: Vanessa Valles
BONUS: If you are a fan of the scrunchies that have the long fabric attached to it, then this is for you. This is super easy to accomplish. First, you lay out your fabric, I again used to crease as guidelines. You then fold the fabric in half and draw a house type shape, with the “roof” at the open end of the fabric. Now you cut this piece out and unfold it. Then you fold it again long ways and tie this piece to your scrunchie. A good tip is to tie it where you sewed the tube together to hide the stitch! You can take this part on and off as you please!
Courtesy: Vanessa Valles
I found this DIY to be tons of fun and I suggest doing it with friends. Nothing is cuter than a squad with matching scrunchies! When people compliment you on your new scrunchie you can tell them: “I made it myself!”
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