Despite the fact that I had lived in the Phoenix area all my life growing up, I decided that it would be a good idea to go to college in Flagstaff Arizona.
It was there that I discovered that I have a fairly low tolerance for snow, ice and wind. And by fairly low I mean, I’m a big baby and complain a lot when subjected to temperatures below 40 degrees. We won’t even discuss the ear infections I got every year from wind.
Because of that, when I’m in snow country, I’m pretty quick to slap a hat, headband, and/or earmuffs on to protect my ears. And I’m always looking for new ways to look cute while still bundled. I have my priorities after all.
So when I came across the sweet little headwraps at Anthro this winter, I knew that they would be a perfect winter accessory knockoff!
Check out my version:
And here’s the Anthro Wintermallows Headwrap:
(source Anthropologie)
I made mine from a thrifted sweater – it worked out great! Plus I have lots of sweater left for other projects.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
• Thrifted Sweater
• Pearls (optional – for rosettes)
• Thread & Sewing Machine
Start by laying out your sweater and deciding what part will work best for the headband. You will probably want to measure your head to make sure you have enough sweater for the wrap.
I used the back of the sweater since this was a cardigan.
I bought this one because it was large and would give me a lot of fabric to work with and it had this large band at the bottom.
It worked out that I could use the back lower section for the headwrap between the two side seams.
Cut off enough of the sweater to go around your head (not too tight, remember you will have a seam in there) and make it twice as wide as you’d like the headband. This was about 8″ tall.
From the sweater cut out two long oval shapes that you will use as the roses. The length on these isn’t super critical because you can make the roses any size you want.
I believe these were about 3″ wide and 8″ and 12″ long.
Fold the band in half, right sides together and sew along the bottom long side. Leave the two sides open.
Turn right side out.
Place the ends together, right sides together and sew the ends together as far as you can with your machine.
Just start at one point and keep lining it up and turning the tube. Leave about 1″ unsewn.
Flip the sewn seam inside and sew the small hole closed by hand.
For the rosettes, fold the long ovals in half. Sew by hand a gathering stitch along the raw edge.
Start curling one end up and sew the raw edges together as you go. Continue rolling and sewing until you have a rose the size you like.
Tuck the other small end under the rose and sew it down.
Sew some pearls and/or beads in the center of your rose for a little fun.
Repeat with the other rose.
Decide if you want to use the ribbed side or the sweater side of your band as the outside.
I used the sweater side since the band showed at the top and bottom and that looked more like the original.
Sew the rosettes to the outside of the band.
Woohoo! Now you have a quick and easy and inexpensiveknockoff headwrap!
And the cutest model ever. . .
Whew – no more frozen ears. ;)
This is too cute! I still have left over sweater from my sweater snowman so I’m going to have to give this a try! :) I shared this over at my FB page because it’s super duper cute!
I thought your version was the anthro version at first glance! Love it…super cozy and cute. And your model is adorable.
dare i say i like your version better?! sew cute!
I agree! Your version is cuter:) Love it!!
I totally consider you the Anthro maven. This is a great use for all of those sweaters I have felted with unusable pieces, ie. the waistband. Love it.
Wow, that turned out really cute! I like your version even better than the Anthro version :)
I like yours a lot better than the Anthro inspiration
Your version is much prettier than the original! May just have to give it a shot myself.
so darn cute! great job, tweeting it! :)
gail
I have this same exact tutorial that i did months ago http://patriciaraedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/anthro-inspired-tutorial.html :)
Amanda
Just when I think you can’t top yourself… This is fantastic, Bev! Those rosettes are the cutest. Love it waaaay better than the original!
I loveeeeeeee how this turned out!! I’ll have to give it a shot sometime. Super cute way to keep your ears warm :)
Lovely! I like yours better too, it has more personality!
love your job absuletyly magnifecent I want to try it
Very Nice!! Love it. Thanks for the tutorial
wow I love this! You did such a great job as always!
I love this anthro knock-off! One of the best sweater makeovers I’ve seen, too!
I agree–yours is sooooo much cuter. What a talent!!
Wow This looks Amazing.. Beautiful!!
Yours is a lot cutter than the original. Good job!!
super cute, love this idea! I just cleaned out my closet and have a pile of sweaters I’ve been debating about what to do with :)
Hey Bev! Showing you off over at Crafts & Sutch today! Be sure to pop over to take a peek and grab a SUTCH an Inspiration button! :)
Erin
This is AMAZING Bev [as always!] I love the pearls you added!
I am absolutely in love with this! Thanks for the tutorial. I’d love for you to submit this to the M&T Spotlight over at http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
ohhh this is sooo sweet! i saw the original one at anthropologie, but could not bring myself to spend the $$$!
thanks for sharing! xo
This is a fantastic project – Like some others, we thought YOURS was the Anthro version! Its great, and your tutorial is awesome. Thank you so much, I can’t wait to make some! ~Lori
This is so stinking cool! I’ve just added this to my to do list!
Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Craft Edition – I featured you today! – Mandy, http://www.craftedition.blogspot.com
Not to sound like a suck up, but yours is about a gazillion times cuter than theirs!
Hi this is so cute and we were thinking alike, I created a knit version of this headband after I saw Whitney wearing it on MTv “the City” coud I share (Link) you post for the non knitting version at my blog, GREAT job by the way!
Oh Bev, this is so cute and looks better than the original! Thanks so much for linking up to my Open House and if you didn’t leave a comment, be sure to if you want to be eligible for the giveaway!
Great job Bev this is so adorable! I featured this today at Me Making Do!
I love your headwrap! I especially love that you recycled a sweater. I might have to dig out some old sweaters and give it a try.
Very Cute!! I must say your headwrap is so much cuter!!!!!!!!!!!
SO cute! I wonder if my daughter would wear this! It is SO cute, I bet I could get her to actually cover her ears!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can’t wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com
Very fun! I love head wraps! I also love to knit, I think I need to make up a knitted version of this… Thanks for the inspiration! you did a great job! Thanks for linking up to Topsy Turvy Tuesday’s!
I like yours better than the anthro one!
come check me out~
Bev, this is awesome! I’ve got a ton of thrifted sweaters just waiting for me to decide what to do to them. I’m gonna have to make one of these this weekend. I actually like yours better than the Anthro version.
I featured you this week! :-)
http://thespeckleddog.blogspot.com/2011/02/favorite-things-friday-no-13.html
Yours is seriously so much better looking! Fantastic job! :D
I think yours looks better than the anthropology one. :) I love my head wraps! I really need to learn to sew.
Your version kicks some serious ass! By FAR better than the Anthro!!! I just need a sweater to give this a try!
This is so awesome!! I NEED to make this! Thanks so much for sharing. I featured this on my blog today: http://vixenmade.blogspot.com/2011/09/upcycled-sweater-projects.html
I really enjoyed this blog so much, Thank you for upload the post.
I LOVE these headwraps! GREAT job. I found you via http://alchymyst.blogspot.com/ I’ll be back for more reading but I’m going to be a follower ~Alicia♥
I really enjoyed this blog so much, Thank you for upload the post.
I think this would make a fantastic cowl too!
I <3 this! I agree with Alejandra that yours is even better than the Anthro!
Just wanted to say that i love ur beautiful headband 100% better! It’s absolutely gorgeous!
Keep up the pretty work:-)