It was just a regular weekday evening when my little sister came over to my desk at home. I was editing an article for work when she suddenly sat beside me, teary-eyed. It was already 8 PM, so I paused and asked her what was wrong.
She told me she had been organizing her school stuff when she saw her project, a DIY headband that she had been working on for days, completely messed up. She thought she had finished tying the last part properly but it turns out it wasn’t secured at all.
Her class had started making it in school using yarn and plastic straws, but since they didn’t have enough time to finish it, they were told to complete it at home. She spent the weekend trying to get it done.
I told her to bring her project over and try to fix it beside me. I don't mind having some company while I do my work.
I didn’t want to do it for her. It was her school project, after all. I even asked her how long it would take to redo it from scratch and she said it took her days!
If I were in her shoes, I’d start over. I can’t stand submitting something that looks messy. It’s just not up to my standards 😅 I’d rather lose sleep than turn in something I’m not proud of.
But that’s the thing. We’re different.
So I asked her whether she preferred to start over to make it look prettier, or just fix what she can. She chose to fix it. I admired her for trying, even though she was sooo frustrated and close to giving up. I stayed beside her while she worked through it.
After some time, she asked for my help with tying the end securely, so I helped her out. I wasn’t super impressed with how it turned out 😆 but I was impressed that she didn’t give up. We even tried putting it on her but it didn’t fit! It was too short for her head!
So I teased her and said we should make one for me instead. That's just a trick though 😂 I wanted her to make another one, a better one. A chance to do her project better. But of course, if it were just for her school project, there’s no way she’d do it all over again. Her priorities are just sooo different from mine.
But the moment I said it was for me, she didn’t even think twice. No complaints, no hesitation. I don’t know what gets into her sometimes. But I’ve noticed that whenever I ask her to do something for me, she’ll drop everything and do it in a heartbeat.
I have a bunch of yarn at home for crocheting anyway, so I grabbed the nearest ones from my stash and she started gathering the rest of the materials.
And just like that, we began again. This time, not for school, but just for fun. Just for me.
Materials we used:
- 3 yarns (different colors)
- 4 plastic straws
- scissors
- tape
- (patience 😆)
The tutorial with my sister began. First, we taped the four straws together to hold them in place while weaving.
We cut four pieces of white yarn, about half a yard each, for the base. It’s better to cut longer than necessary. You can always trim later.
Next, we grabbed the four white yarns we cut earlier and gently slid each one through a straw. One yarn per straw. After that, we tied one end of all the yarns together in a knot, right near the taped part of the straws. This knot will serve as the starting point of the headband design.
Next, we used the other two yarn colors for weaving. We tied it around the first straw, then started the pattern:
Under the 2nd straw → Over the 3rd → Under the 4th. Repeat.
Just keep weaving, pushing the yarn toward the tape as you go to keep it neat.
Once we reached the end, we tied it off on the last straw and carefully removed the tape and straws. This is the part my sister rushed the first time that’s why hers got messed up. But this time, she was extra careful.
After removing the straws, we tied off the other end. And that's it, a new headband!
When we finally finished it, my sister checked the time and realized it was already past her bedtime. It was just 10 PM 😂 but for her, that’s late already.
She looked at the headband with so much pride and told me she poured her sweat and tears into it, even sacrificed her bedtime! That might sound silly, but if you knew her, you’d know how much that really means. Her bedtime is sacred. So yes, I truly appreciated that.
I hope you all have someone in your life, a sister, a friend, anyone... who’d do something for you in a heartbeat, even if it means staying up just a little past their bedtime.
I appreciate you reading this all the way through 💖 Thanks for your time!
Would you try this DIY headband? What colors would you use?
All images are mine unless otherwise stated.
Banner created on Canva