Another Flower Headband Fleece Lining Tutorial

Hi, Knitters,

First a couple of housekeeping things to share:

Thank you for the kind response to Episode 11 of my podcast and for entering to win Kristin Nicholas' new book Colorful Stitchery and Kristin's new Regia sock yarn. The winner of the book and sock yarn is.....

jjurney ~ rav id !

Congratulations Jodi! I have already contacted Jodi to let her know the good news. Thanks to everyone for entering and I have another great giveaway already lined up for after Thanksgiving. You won't want to miss this one, it's huge.

Also, this week I am the featured designer on The Loopy Ewe Blog. Click here to read the interview!

The Loopy Ewe Feature also includes a coupon code for 20% off one of any of my downloadable patterns! This also includes the eBook for Mary, Millie & Morgan for the discount which makes it a great deal. 

Enter the following code at checkout:

Coupon Code: THELOOPYEWE

Click here for my Ravelry Pattern Store! The code is good through November 28th, 2014. Thank you to Sheri and The Loopy Ewe for the fun blog feature.

Oh hey! My Hayward Shawl was just released back to me to add to my Ravelry Pattern Shop as a downloadable pattern!! The pattern is for sale now for $5.50 but you can use the 20% off coupon code: THELOOPYEWE, for a good deal on the new pattern.

Click here for the Hayward Shawl pattern information or to purchase!

Hayward is the shawl I talked about and wore in Episode 11 of my podcast.

I whipped up an Another Flower Headband a couple of weeks ago for TC's swim buddy. I lined it with white polar fleece which makes the headband extra warm and cozy. I've been asked how I line the headbands with polar fleece so I thought I would photograph the process and share it with you today.

Pattern: Another Flower Headband by me ~ pattern sells for $2.50 on Ravelry! (Hint: use the coupon code mentioned above for 20% off!)

The pattern comes in 3 sizes: small child, large child and teen/adult. The flower has lots of options as far as size and number of layers or it could be left off completely. 

Click here to find out more about the Another Flower Headband pattern!

Yarn used: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky, one skein in the Cermak colorway. Click here to find out more about the yarn! This is just beautiful bulky weight yarn. It is so soft and squishy. 

Materials needed to line the headband:

A piece of polar fleece to fit

Sewing needle and matching thread

Pins

Scissors (sharp fabric scissors are best for cutting the fleece)

Your finished Another Flower Headband!

Note: I'm sure there are lots of ways to line a headband like this. I am sharing how I like to line hats/headbands. I have lined all sorts of hats and headbands for my kids through the years and the following process has worked very well. 

Step 1: Make sure the fleece is going to stretch in the right direction before cutting. You want the fleece to stretch in the same direction that the headband will stretch. Cut a strip of fleece that is a little wider (about an inch) and a couple of inches longer on each end. Fold the strip in half with the right side of the fabric facing you.

Step 2: Turn the headband inside out and place it in the folded fleece strip. The front of the headband should be at the fold and the back of the headband is at the open end. There will be a seam at the back of the headband.

Step 3: Pin the fleece in place. 

Step 4: Turn the headband right side out. With your fabric scissors carefully trim the excess fleece so that the edges are just a little bit in from the headband edges. 

Here is the trimmed and pinned fleece inside the headband.

Step 5:  Turn the headband back to inside out again for the sewing in of the fleece lining. For the ends of the fleece strip, overlap one end about an inch under the other end and pin in place. Trim any excess fabric if necessary. 

Step 6: With the sewing needle and matching thread begin to use a whipstitch to attach the fleece to the headband. Catch a purl bump on the headband and the edge of the fleece on each stitch. Make these stitches about a 1/4-inch apart going all the way around the headband on both edges.

***MOST IMPORTANT TIP: As you are stitching the fleece to the headband stop every few  stitches to stretch the headband as you go! The headband will stretch when worn and so you need to make sure the stitches are loose enough so there is some give. If you don't stretch the headband as you stitch the thread will break when the headband is worn.

Every once in awhile the thread will break after months and months of wear, even after years of wear and I have to re-stitch it back in place. This has only happened after heavy use and it is very easy to mend.

Step 7: Whipstitch the seam to join the ends. One end overlaps about 1 inch under the other end. Tie off the thread and trim the end.

Here it is!! It's warm and cozy and ready to wear.

Here is the view from the right side with the fleece lining inside. It's so squishy!

The Another Flower Headband is knit on US size 10 needles and bulky weight yarn. This project can be whipped up in a matter of a couple of hours. It is the perfect gift! The high school and college age girls in my family all wear these headbands all of the time and just love them. They are quite stylish.

I hope this helps with the lining of your headbands. It only takes a small amount of time to make the headband even better than before. The added warmth and stability is worth the extra effort.

With that I bid you adieu.

xo ~ susan