DIY: Imitation Free People Crochet Headband

Back in early December my boyfriend made me walk with him around the mall and show him things I liked, because he didn't know what to get me for Christmas. (It felt like cheating, but thankfully he got me nothing I pointed to, so I guess it was fair.) Anyway, During this excursion we went into Free People, where I found a knit head wrap with crochet flowers on it that looked surprisingly cute on me:

... but it was $28. I didn't feel like shelling out thirty bucks on a headband. BUT the other day I checked in on Threadbanger's latest DIY videos, and lo and behold, a tutorial on how to crochet a headband:

I embarked on a project (complete with iced coffee and See's chocolate nearby):

JUST so everyone knows, flower appliques are IMPOSSIBLE to crochet, and anyone who makes them is a liar because a quadruple crochet stitch can't be done. Since I can't figure it out. After giving up on countless videos, including a really awful Threadbanger one (usually they rock, but this one was just terrible; most of their YouTube comments agree with me), I fudged some sort of frilly circular things that can pass for something floral, and tied them on.

Here is my cat, modeling the final product:

I saved the best part for last. The price!:

DIY Project: Recycled Bloomer-Style Underwear

The concept and instructions for this project came from threadbanger.com's video about Clare Bare's handmade, custom lingerie:

I used the pattern provided (Clare Bare Underwear Pattern), which I measured out with a ruler and freehanded.

Here is my pattern:

A note for next time, if I do this again: I would make the crotch area a bit longer, and make more of a curve for the leg holes in front.

I chose leftover, very lightweight cotton fabric from a previous sewing project (okay, so it's not EXACTLY recycled, but it's not new, either). I don't have a serger, so I skipped right to the hemming part:

A picture of my tidy seams.

This is the part I had the most trouble with, sewing the hem on the crotch curve. I'm not that skilled of a seamstress, so I'm not sure how you're supposed to make un-stretchy fabric lie flat on a curve ...

Last, I sewed on the elastic. There wasn't any fancy "purpley pink" scalloped elastic at our local fabric store, so I just went with some soft, stretchy 1/4" normal kind.

And, the finished product! They look TINY, but the elastic is extremely stretchy. They fit, in an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny bikini kind of way. And no, I won't model them.