Handmade Costume Series: DIY “Going Batty” Headband Tutorial

Halloween is that time of year when half the population gets super excited to go all out and create a full costume. And the rest of us hope to avoid invitation to costume parties. Bev from Flamingo Toes has the ideal solution for you. Her bat headband tutorial is adorable and perfect for the minimalist. It’s like you made an effort to dress up but not so much of an effort that you’re covered head to toe in chicken feathers. Or whatever. 

Hello Train to Crazy Readers!! I am so excited to be here today as part of Andrea’s awesome Costume Series!!
My name is Bev and I blog at Flamingo Toes. My kids are teenagers now – so I don’t get to do full up costumes for them. I had a hard time coming up with something to share today! I came up with the idea to do a cute, fun headband that can be worn to Halloween parties or work – when you want to show off just a little bit of Halloween Spirit!
I love how it came out!

Wrap strands of the 18 gauge wire around the headband, to one side. You’ll want the longest pieces in the center.

Try and flatten the wire to the headband as much as possible – you can use pliers to help with this if you need to.

Once the wire is as flat as you can make it, cut a small strip of black felt and glue this along the underside of the headband. This will make sure you don’t feel the wire when you’re wearing it.

Starting at one side, glue the end of your black satin ribbon down and begin wrapping it around the headband. Keep wrapping between the wires until they are all covered and you reach the other side.
Glue the other end down.

Now we’re going to get to the fun stuff. Add a little bit of tulle to the headband by cutting pieces and knotting them on between each wire. I didn’t measure how long, just make sure the center pieces are a little taller.

Add in a little lighter trim for some contrast. I had some wired silver fringe, but you could use anything – silver ribbon, rick rack, beaded trim – whatever you have on hand!

Make four rolled fabric flowers – two large and two medium-sized. If you need a tutorial, you can check out my How To Make Flowers page. I have several different flower tutorials there for you to reference.
Glue the fabric flowers along the front of the headband, but not too low so it will still sit on your head.
(I promise the wires are still there – they’re just hard to see in the photo.)

Last up – glue your bats onto the wires with a little hot glue. Cut small strips of regular felt to glue over the top of the wire on the back side. This will help hold them on, and keep it looking nice from the back too!

Isn’t it fun? I love that it’s super eye catching but still cute!

And you can’t go wrong with bats and glitter. It’s like a spooky little Halloween tiara. 🙂