Fleece headband - my first attempt

My baby is due this winter so I've been trying to figure out how to make fleece headbands ... this is my first attempt.

First lesson, fleece does not stretch as much as t-shirt material therefore you need longer pieces than a regular headband.

Second, I googled the circumference of a newborn and found. 

"The average newborn’s head circumference measures about 13 3⁄4 inches (35 cm), growing to about 15 inches (38 cm) by one month. Because boys tend to be slightly larger than girls, their heads are larger, though the average difference is less than 1⁄2 inch (1 cm)."

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/pages/First-Month-Physical-Appearance-and-Growth.aspx

Therefore my fleece material should be cut larger than +14 inches to accommodate the first month at least.

Third, the most you can stretch fleece is 1.5-2 inches and that is by pulling the material. So, be prepared to use more material than usual.

Here are my first steps: 

This should fit a newborn.

Step 1:
Cut a piece of fleece 14 inches by 3 inches.

(Top-piece pictured is stretched out to 16 inches. It was cut 14 inches just like the bottom piece.)

Step 2:

Took the ends and sewed them together by hand. 

Step 3:

Made a bow by cutting two fleece squares. One slightly larger than the other one. Mine were 2.5" and 2.75 inch squares.

And cutting a strip of felt to tie them together.

Step 4:

Wrapped the bow around the site where I stitched the headband together. Sewed the ends to secure the bow.

That's it. This is my first fleece headband.

Baby headband tutorial

Now that my sons birthday party is completed. I'm ready to focus on the baby. My first priority is of coarse heabands. I took pictures along the way, to see what worked and didn't work. I love these projects and are worth the time and effort. Hopefully she will be born with hair like my son !

1- Elastic scraps

2- Flowers

3-Felt

4/5- Needle and thread 

6- Hot glue gun

Step 1- cut a piece of elastic 12.5 inches and sewed right sides together.

Step 2 - Embelished my flower by adding a rhinestone center (hot glued) & glued a felt circle to the bottom of the flower.

Step 3 - Glued the elastic between the felt glued to the bottom of the flower and the extra circle I cut out. 

Covering the elastic point where I sewed it together.

That easy! I made 3 headbands in an hour.

See the difference a rhinestone in the middle makes !

Its a boy ?

Today, I had another doctor's appointment. Although no ultrasound was done, I was concerned about the range in heart rate from my past appointments.  That was when the doctor said 'based on heart rate it does indicate a boy'. At the moment I was shocked, then I was offered an ultrasound to check the gender. I could know, right there and then. Unfortunately, at that moment my son decided to have a meltdown and I had to leave. By the time I arrived home, I called my husband to relay what the doctor had said. I burst into tears saying 'what am I going to do with two boys?'. My husband still holds the hope its a girl and says we should wait until the 20 week ultrasound to verify.

As the day continued I was sulky, but then I was mad at myself. Just today I read a story of someone having a third miscarriage and becoming high risk. I'm ashamed at myself for being so selfish. I am so lucky to be pregnant. I still hold hope its a girl but I need to be emotionally prepared for a boy. So, to cheer me up I decided to look for some bunk beds for my son's room. If its another boy, they are going to be roommates :) 

Two boys, omg, I'm definitely going to need a lot of patience. My son is wild with enthusiasm and energy. Now I really wish I had started having babies at a younger age! 

As I write this, my son has joined me on the couch with our chihuahua and has given her a kiss on the head.  Then he tried to bear hug her but she growled and left the couch. Now he's trying to start a pillow fight with the chihuahua.  Heaven help me, two wild boys to keep me busy !

By the way, I took the Chinese gender predictor test . It says i'm having a boy :)

UPDATE: 8.29.13
The 20 week ultrasound finally verified it. It's a girl!!! Hooray, I have already gone out and purchased a pink tutu. We were so shocked when the tech said it was a girl, we couldn't believe it. I had already purchased a 'little bro' t-shirt. While we have announced its a girl, we are still holding on to all those boy items. My husband was suppose to be a girl and of coarse when he was born he proved them wrong. So, while we are saying its a girl, we have decided to keep all the receipts and not start any decorating until after the baby is born. I know it sounds nuts, but we prefer to play safe. Just in case :)