DIY Fleece Hair Tie

Back in my coffee shop worker days I used to have to wear my hair pulled back in a ponytail with a headband, a combination that offered plenty of opportunities to be festive around every holiday. In the several years that I was a barista I amassed quite a collection of holiday hairwear, and I still enjoy making new additions to the collection. So for the Valentine’s Day edition of Craft Lightning, I used some pink fleece that I had on hand to make a fluffy, frilly hair tie!

(Thanks to 30 Minute Crafts and The Country Chic Cottage for hosting this event featuring quick crafts – make sure you stop by their blogs to see lots more great Valentine’s Day crafts this week that you can do in 15 minutes or less!)

You will need:

• Fleece
• Elastic cord
• Large-eye needle
• Scissors
• Needle and thread

Start with a strip of fleece. I have a fairly large chunk of pink fleece that I bought out of a remnant bin because I needed a tiny bit for a project, and ever since it’s been taking up lots of space on one of my shelves, so that was my inspiration for this project!

The dimensions of your strip will depend on how large you need the hair tie to be (based on how thick your hair is) and how fluffy you want it to be. My strip is about 3 inches wide and about 22 inches long; I have very thick hair and wanted a medium amount of fluffiness to my finished hair accessory. For a smaller hair tie (if you have thinner hair, or for a young child) a 14 or 15 inch strip should be sufficient. To make the finished hair tie fluffier, cut the strip a little wider, which will produce longer fringes. Fleece is cheap and these are so quick to make that you can easily play around until you find the dimensions that give you just the look you like!

Fold the strip in half lengthwise and trim fringe along the edge starting from the side opposite the fold, cutting about 3/4 of the way and being careful not to cut through all the way through the folded edge. Cut the fringes about 1/4 inch apart all the way down the length of the strip.

Thread a large-eyed needle (I use an upholstery needle) with elastic cord. I used black cord because it’s what I had on hand and since my hair is pretty dark, if any bits of it do peek through they won’t be noticeable. If you have lighter hair, white or another color cord might be better. Use a running stitch all the way down the center of the strip and pull to gather.

Tie the ends of the elastic together to form a circle. The size of the circle depends on the thickness of the pony tail it will hold; it should be long enough to wrap around twice and hold snugly. Spread out the gathered fleece evenly around the elastic circle and, if desired, secure the two ends of the fleece together with a couple if quick stitches, which will hide the knot. And it’s ready to wear!