Category: Fashion Accessories

My feather headband incorporates Plaid Crafts Fabric Creations printed line with OlyFun. This is a no-sew fashion accessory project. While I don’t find it very complicated, it does have some tricky parts with using the block printing stamps and neatly gluing the pieces. I made a headband, but you could use this concept to make a fascinator, barrette, clip, or pin. I recommend using light OlyFun colors with the stamps and inks, for the best printing results. Though this headband design is oversized, the OlyFun is a lightweight fabric. It doesn’t fray, making it great for this project. There are many stamps to choose from, but the Feathers and Indian Leaf stamps are my favorites.

What you need to make this project

Materials: Oly-Fun Craft Pack in Sea Green; Oly-Fun Craft Pack in Sky Blue; Oly-Fun Craft Pack in Orchid; Oly-Fun Craft Pack in Kiwi

Supplies: Plaid Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Ink in African Violet; Plaid Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Ink in Shamrock; Plaid Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Ink in Turquoise; Many 3.0mm clear flatback crystals; 1 Metal headband; Beacon Fabri-Tac Glue; Beacon Gem-Tac; Low-temp hot glue gun; Low-temp hot glue sticks; Wax paper; Paper plate; Plaid Fabric Creations Block Printing Stamp in Large Indian Leaf; Plaid Fabric Creations Block Printing Stamp in Border Feather; Plaid Fabric Creations Foam Printing Mat; Plaid Fabric Creations Sponge Cubes; Small scissors; Crystal Kubaton

Instructions

Step One

Cut one 4″ strip of OlyFun from each color, for a total of 4 strips. Cut two 1.5″ by 12″ strip of Sky Blue OlyFun. Set those two strips aside.

Step Two

Place an OlyFun strip onto the foam printing mat.

Step Three

Squeeze a little fabric ink onto the paper plate. Dip a sponge cube into the ink, blotting it, to spread the ink. Sponge the ink onto one stamp, making sure the coverage it even and not light. Quickly press the stamp onto the Oly*Fun strip. Press down firmly, for a clear impression. Lift the stamp up to reveal the print.

Repeat this step for each strip, ink color, and stamp. You’ll need 1 Indian Leaf print and 9-11 feather prints. I experimented with switching the ink and OlyFun colors, until I got enough nicely printed feathers. Let them dry for a few minutes.

Step Four

Using the small scissors, carefully cut around the feathers and Indian leaf prints. I left a small border around each print.

Step Five

Put a piece of wax paper on your work surface.

Step Six

Along one Sky Blue OlyFun strip, arrange your feathers and Indian leaf prints. I made 9 feathers, but looking at it again, it would have looked better with another by the Indian leaf, and a straight one at opposite end. I staggered my feathers, at an angle. This gets tricky, since all of the feathers curve in the same direction.

Step Seven

Use Beacon Fabri-Tac to adhere feathers and Indian leaf to the Sky Blue OlyFun strip. Let it dry a few minutes.

Step Eight

Squeeze a little Beacon Gem-Tac onto the paper plate. Pour some crystals out. Pick up a crystal front with the sticky Crystal KuBaton end. Dip the crystal back into a little Gem-Tac. Quickly press the crystal onto a leaf or feather print, where you think it needs sparkle.

Repeat this step until the feathers and leaf are as sparkly as desired. I used the designs as a guide, keeping the placement symmetrical. Add more glue to the plate as needed. It gets stickier as it dries, so a little at a time is best. Don’t worry about the glue sticking out from the sides, as it dries completely clear. Let the crystals dry until the glue goes clear.

Step Nine

Use the small scissors to trim the strip where it shows on the front. This will give the final headband a cleaner design.

Step Ten

Flip the feathers and leaf piece over. Find the center and match that up to the center of the headband. Apply a strip of hot glue to the center top of the headband. Quickly press it on the center back of the OlyFun piece. Add more glue along the headband, pressing the OlyFun piece onto it as you go. Work in sections, as the hot glue dries quickly. When you are done hot gluing the OlyFun piece, let it dry for a minute.

Step Eleven

Working at one end of the OlyFun piece back, apply a little hot glue and adhere the 2nd Sky Blue OlyFun strip.

Step Twelve

Using the small scissors, trim the 2nd strip to match the 1st strip.

Step Thirteen

Hot glue the loose sides of the strip, so it’s securely adhered to the headband. Remove any hot glue strings.

Step Fourteen

When you’re finished, your headband should look similar to mine.

This is what mine looks like on me.

DIY Printed OlyFun Feather Headband