Hair Wraps: An Easy, Fun, Summer Craft for Tween Girls

You Can Make Your Own for Less Than $1!

If you have a tween daughter, you know that hair wraps are, like, sooo popular right now! Girls love to sport these multicolor, fun hair accessories. They can be as creative and unique as the girl wearing them. Many people pay as much as $20 per wrap for a "professional" wrap. I'll show you that they are really easy to make, and don't require a lot of cash! Once you learn these techniques, you can do hair wraps any time, and girls love to wrap each other's hair.

Here are the basic supplies you will need to start:

Embroidery floss in various colors- I usually use two colors per wrap. I buy mine at Walmart for about .25 per skein. You can also use thin glitter hemp or another thin string, but I think embroidery floss works best.

Small rubber elastics-you know those little ones that are about the size of the tip of your pinky finger. You can use regular, or the non-damaging type. These cost about .50 per pack at a drugstore or department store in the hair care section.

Charms- These are optional, but my daughter loves to add them, and they add an extra sparkle. I get mine at Wal-mart in the jewelry craft section, for about $2.00 for a pack of 5 charms.

Here's how to do it:

1. Start by choosing a piece of hair to work with. I usually choose an area in the front of the head, in the top layer of hair, about the width of a small paper clip. You can make your wrap smaller or larger if you want, it is totally up to you. Keep in mind that a larger piece of hair may require extra time and floss to wrap.

2. Separate the section of hair you have chosen into 3 sections, and braid the entire length of the strand in a tight braid. This part is important, as if you don't braid it first, the hair wrap will slip of much easier.

3. Use one of the small rubber elastics to secure the braid at the bottom. You can also pull the rest of the hair back in a pony tail to get it out of your way. This is especially important for girls with really thick hair.

4. Choose the colors of embroidery floss that you would like to use. I usually use two colors. You can use three or more, but it will make the wrap a little thicker.