DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands

A great way to keep using those elastic baby bow headbands for a long time as they grow is to turn them into some cute upcycled headbands for big girls. Learn how you can do this too!

My girl looks so cute with them on. You have to try this!!!

DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands cover Image with Title text overlay

Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands for Big Girls

I got many lovely and cute headbands for my baby girl from our family and relatives since she was in my belly.

The cutest headbands ever, with their big and colorful bows. So much art and creativity on each one but my baby girl couldnโ€™t use them much because the elastic always annoyed her, even now.

view of the elastic headbands on my baby

The thing is that they were so cute and I loved them so much that I couldnโ€™t bear the thought of giving them away.

So I came up with the idea of reusing them making these kinds of headbands made with plastic so they wouldnโ€™t be elastic anymore.

And it worked!!! She likes to wear them now.

I love how they turned out. I made some of them because Em has so many LOL. The rest is on my to-do list to come up with other ideas.

It is super easy to make and you only need some plastic headbands {or hair clips} and a hot glue gun or thread and needle.

How to make these upcycled Baby bow headbands

With this tutorial, you will use up to the last piece of your old headbands.

Supplies:

  • Plastic headbands.
  • Old elastic baby headbands with bows

Tools:

  • Scissors
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Needle and thread.
view of supplies to make Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands

Instructions:

1. Get your selection of elastic bands.

view of elastic strip and bow

2. Just cut off the elastic strip from the bow as close as possible to the joints.

cutting elastic band from bow
 elastic band, bow and headband on the table

3. Used it to wrap it around the plastic headband while stretching it tightly. Add a dab of glue to secure the end of the elastic and then go around covering the headband.

wrapping the headband with elastic band

4. When you get to the end, glue it with a dab of hot glue. Secure for a few seconds until it cools down.

applying hot glue to the ends of the headband to secure elastic band

And the headband is wrapped.

Now the bow.

headband wrapped in my hands

5. Decide first where you wanted the bow to be placed and leave a mark.

6. Then add a big dab of hot glue where the mark is and put the bow in place.

applying hot glue dot to the headband where the bow goes

7. To reinforce the bow add a few dabs of hot glue in a few more spots along the headband below the bow.

placing the bow on the headband with a bit more glue

There you goโ€ฆ you got yourself a cute bow headband for girls!

view of one of the upcycled baby bow headband turned into Big girl headband

Here is another example, and it was almost the same.

cut other elastic band
wrapping other headband with elastic band

Cut the elastic from the baby headband bow, and wrap the plastic headband.

sewing the end of the headband
another headband wrapped

But this time at the end of the plastic headband I made some stitches instead of gluing.

applying hot glue dot to the headband where the bow goes
another Upcycled Baby bow headband finished for the girl

Then marked the place for the bow, glued it, and tadaaaaa!!!

DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands general view

Crafting Tips

* If the old headbands’ elastic bands are in really bad shape, just use what you have at hand, ribbon or fabric scraps.

* If your bows don’t have embellishments, you can add anything you have even small toys and buttons.

Look how cute she looks with another one I made!

A girl with one of the DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands
closeup of little model with upcycled baby bow headband on her head
All DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands together

What do you think?  Have you made headbands like these? How else would you make them?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you put a bow on a headband?

The fastest and easier way is to use hot glue. If the headband is wrapped in fabric, ribbon, or elastic bands you can also attach it by stitching it either directly to the fabric or ribbon or placing a piece of fabric or felt on the inner side putting the headband between the piece and the bow and stitching them together.

What type of headband do you need to make a bow headband?

You can use from fabric and elastic to plastic or metallic headbands. It will mostly depend on who will use it and what is more comfortable for them.

What if I don’t have old elastic bow headbands?

Then you could make a cute bow yourself and glue it to the headband, or you can buy cute bows at thrift stores or craft stores.

What glue is best to make bow headbands?

In my experience, hot glue is the best. It hardens fast and, in most cases, it won’t come off. But you are free to try and test!

More Upcycled projects to Try

โœ‚๏ธ Tutorial

DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands cover

DIY Upcycled Baby Bow Headbands

Camila Rojas
A great way to keep using those elasticย baby bow headbandsย for a long time as they grow is to turn them into someย cute upcycled headbandsย for big girls. Learn how you can do this too!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Crafting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Category DIY & Craft
Topic Easy Crafts, For Kids
Pieces 2 pieces

Tools

  • scissors
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  • Needle and thread.

Supplies
  

  • Plastic headbands.
  • Old elastic baby headbands with bows

Instructions
 

  • Get your selection of elastic bands.
  • Just cut off the elastic strip from the bow as closed as possible to the joints.
  • Used it to wrap it around the plastic headband while stretching it tightly. Add a dab of glue to secure the end of the elastic and then go around covering the headband.
  • When you get to the end, glue it with a dab of hot glue. Secure for a few seconds until it cools down.
  • And the headband is wrapped.
  • Now the bow.
  • Decide first where you wanted the bow to be placed and leave a mark.
  • Then add a big dab of hot glue where the mark is and put the bow in place.
  • To reinforce the bow add a few dabs of hot glue in a few more spots along the headband below the bow.
  • There you goโ€ฆ you got yourself a cute bow headband for girls!
  • Here is another example, and it was almost the same.
  • Cut the elastic from the baby headband bow, and wrap the plastic headband.
  • But this time at the end of the plastic headband I made some stitches instead of gluing.
  • Then marked the place for the bow, glued it, and tadaaaaa!!!
Keyword diy baby bow headbands, diy big bow headbands, diy headbands with bow

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