How to Make a Princess Leia Headband | an Easy, No-Sew Craft

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May the 4h be with you! Happy Star Wars day. Last year I shared with you some of the Star Wars amigurumi that I have made. You can read about that here. This year I wanted to make an easy costume piece.  Here is an easy, no-sew Princess Leia headband.  With just a few simple supplies you can easily make this in an evening.

Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fischer is an iconic Star Wars character. It’s great to see strong, female characters in movies. She is characterized by her signature hair buns on the sides of her head. Yes, she did eventually change her hairstyle, but it seems like everyone knows this hairstyle. And yes, you could style your own hair that way, but it never seems to work with my hair and it’s more work. So why not make this easy Princess Leia Headband which you can put on and there you go!

Supplies for the Princess Leia Headband

• headband – I used the Goody brand headbands which can be purchased in most drug stores.
• brown yarn – I literally found the cheapest yarn I could find. You don’t need a full skein so if you have most of a partial skein, that’ll work too
  
• 2 small hair elastics – I get these from the dollar store; it’s those small ones that are pretty much one-time use only
• glue gun and extra glue
• scissors to cut yarn – I use my sewing scissors
• a pair of old socks; they don’t need to match – I just went through my pile of single socks; if possible, get a dark colour so that it kind of matches.

Step by Step Directions for the Princess Leia Headband

1. Cut your yarn into lengths. I experimented with various lengths and amounts. Too long made it hard to turn into a bun. Too much made the hair buns huge and heavy. In the end the ideal seemed to be 48 inches in length & 40 pieces. They will be folded in half and so the sock bun will consist of 80 pieces of yarn. If you prefer a larger hair bun, simply add more lengths.
2. Line up your yarn and find the centre. Using your glue gun, attach the yarn to the headband. I do it in batches and layer a few at a time. You are gluing on the INSIDE of the headband. Again, don’t worry about it being perfect – it will be secured with an elastic.
   
   
   
3. Use the small hair elastic and on the OUTSIDE of the headband, make a ponytail (or a pigtail) with the yarn. With the elastic I used, I was able to loop it around twice. This helps secure the yarn and makes it easier to roll the bun.
   
4. Trim the yarn so that it is all even. Mine isn’t perfect – it will still work.
   
5. Trim the socks so that you have a tube. Do this by cutting the toe off.
6. Using the sock, make a sock bun with the yarn. For instructions on how to make a sock bun, check this tutorial out here.
   TIP:  I used a lot of yarn and it is hard to make it perfect – so don’t worry about it. With this much yarn, it’s easier to roll the sock bun by rotating in a clockwise or counter-clockwise manner.
   Again, it doesn’t need to be “perfect” – you’re just trying to achieve the basic shape. Don’t worry about little ends – you can tuck those in and add more glue to secure them.
   I must confess that I didn’t make these sock buns. My excuse is that I have sons! I barely know how to braid. I did try it, but it was a huge mess. I enlisted the help of a friend (who has daughters!) who was able to make nice neat sock buns.
7. Repeat for the other side.

That’s all there is to it! Now you have a simple Princess Leia headband that you can wear and look just like Princess Leia. This easy-to-make accessory is great for Star Wars Day (May 4th), costume parties/COS play and even to wear to the movies. Make one today!

Want to remember how to make this no-sew Princess Leia headband? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.