So full confession, I made a pop up headband with a New Year’s theme for Mr. Suzerspace and myself, and planned to share the tutorial in time for other’s to make their own. And then I totally didn’t.
But the pop up headband came out great and I still wanted to share, so here’s a tutorial using the same construction technique, but not specific to New Year’s Eve.
I’m working in Silhouette Studio (Basic Edition) because that’s what I use, but the same steps would apply in any drawing program.
I did a lot of measuring and testing, so you’ll have to trust me on this, but start with a 10 inch by 1 inch rectangle. It doesn’t have to be exactly 10 x 1, just close.
Create two circles that about .25 inches wide. A little bigger is fine. Position one at each side of the rectangle, in about an inch or so. Center them longwise with the rectangle.
Type out your word, and use a big fat font. This is not a good place for intricate scripts. Also, you just want one word that isn’t too long. You want it to sit on the top of your head to keep it readable. Too many letters will make it run down the sides. And one more detail – it’s going to need to be all caps, or at least not use letters that have two parts, like a lower case “I” or a question or exclamation mark.
Resize the text so it is a little taller than the rectangle. Then resize it so that it stays that height, but decreases in width to about 4.5 inches or so. The technical term for this is “Smooshing the text” and in general, graphic designers frown on this, but crafters love it. I am both, so I say Smoosh away!
Now position the text centered to the rectangle, and overlapping by just a little bit. You need every letter to be just a little below the rectangle.
Choose Weld. If all has gone according to plan, you should have a shape that looks something like this:
If your letters are not completely welded to the rectangle, undo and reposition them a little lower over the rectangle and weld again. This only works if everything is attached.
Send your design to cut. I used a nice 80# smooth cardstock. I’m positive other paper will work, just keep in mind if it’s too lightweight it will be flimsy and if it’s too heavy it may be difficult to cut, but like Bob Ross would say, “It’s your world.”
Carefully remove the cut paper from the mat, and then fold the letters toward the rectangle so they stand up.
Thread a slightly stretch piece of yard through the holes and put the headband on your head, and either tie it below your chin or behind your ears depending on the look you are after.
And enjoy!
