Apple Watchband Scrunchie DIY

Now that the holiday hustle is over, life can get back to normal. Whatever "normal" is, right?

Happy New Year!!
Do you make New Year's resolutions? I do easy ones. I tell myself I'll make dinner 5 nights a week, exercise more, give one room a make-over (the main bathroom), simple and doable things. And of course, I fall off the wagon 2 months in. LOL Ahh... life.

Anywho, what fun things did you give and receive for the holidays??
Perhaps you or a loved one received an Apple watch? If so, I have the perfect tutorial you need to scrunchify that watchband. Scrunchify is a technical term btw. ;)

Before we dive in I want to say this is a perfect scrap buster project. Yay for those! You just need a strip of fabric, no stabilizer needed. This is meant to be floppy. 
As far as fabric choices, choose something with a small print or a solid. I have made them with knit, quilting cotton, shirting, and they all seem to work great. So, be creative and have fun!

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​Supply List:

• 1/8" yard of fabric or fat quarter (small prints work best)
• 1/4" elastic
• Pair of magnetic clips for the watch
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread, bobbin,notions, etc.
• Sewing machine
• Rotary cutter
• Ruler and cutting mat
• Safety pin or other object for turning tubes
• 
  
  

A rotary cutter and a ruler are pretty much all you need.

I don't have an Apple watch, but my friend does and she asked if I'd make her a few scrunchy wristbands for it. I searched all over to find a tutorial, and it was hard to find one. I honestly didn't even know the scrunchie wristband was a thing, but the 80s and 90s are back in full swing, so...

I found a tutorial and made 3, but I wasn't happy with them. I figured if she wanted more after the first set, I'd fiddle with a pattern and make them differently. Well, she asked for more and I created a whole new pattern. The end result was much prettier, fluffier, and more like an actual scrunchy. Yay! So, I wanted to share how to make these with you. If you do make one, tag me so I can see them. These make great scrap busting projects as well. Win-Win!

Step 1. Cut your fabric into an 18" by 4" strip. If you have a rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat, this makes the process easy. If not, use chalk or invisible ink and scissors to mark and cut the strip.
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Press the strip flat, and fold down a 1/4" strip on each short end, wrong sides together. Press. 

Do this to both ends. Then, fold in half lengthwise with right sides facing.

Sew 1/4" seam down the strip. Backstitch at each end.

Grab your safety pin and attach it to one of the tube ends. Or use whatever method you like for turning tubes.

Feed the safety pin back through the tube until it comes out the other side. Gently pull it through and take off the safety pin. Go back to the iron to press the seam.

Press ONLY the seam flat, you don't want to crease on the scrunchy.

Measure your wrist and figure out how much elastic you'll need. My friend has a smaller wrist, so I cut a 6" piece. If you have a larger wrist, you will want to cut a 7-8" piece. 
Stick the safety pin or a bodkin at the end and feed the elastic through the tube. 
Use another safety pin or clip to hold the elastic at one end while you feed the elastic through to the other end.

Feed the elastic through the tube. I prefer to have the seam in the middle, but you can push it to one side if you like.

Sew one end with a scant 1/4" seam and go over the elastic 2 or 3 times, being sure to backstitch. Repeat on the other end. 

Snip those threads.

Ta-Da! You're almost done.

It should resemble something like this. If not, get that seam ripper and go back a few steps. My elastic slipped out from one end and I had to re do the elastic twice. Ugh!

Now grab those magnetic clips. The easy part is done. They come in a little box like this. I saved the boxes to reuse for something. Buttons perhaps? Or spent needles that need to go in the trash. 

Notice the 2 different sides and magnets. We'll want to use the side with 3 black magnets.

This is honestly the least enjoyable part of making these simple scrunchies. Take a sip of tea, eat a piece of chocolate, or scream into a pillow, and let's do this! 

Should look like this when the fabric is pulled through. Make sure you see the black magnets.

Make sure the clip has the 3 black magnets facing upwards. Then stick a corner of the scrunchy through the back and carefully pull and tug until it's through the itty bitty gap. I pull it until it overlaps about 1/2" or so. Clip or pin this end in place. Do the same thing with the other side. This definitely takes some patience. Don't get frustrated, if you need to use the other corner to stuff inside, do that. This part takes some finagling for sure. 

I used wonder clips to hold the ends, but pins work too.

Sew the ends closed. Be careful to not stitch through the magnet clips. I found it helpful and easy to have the magnet to the left of the needle. It seemed easier for the machine too. I stitched right over the area that was previously stitched to keep the elastic in place. Backstitch and you're done! Insert into your watch and go.

I made 3 different prints. You can do one for every holiday! They're really easy to batch sew.

She sent me a few photos to share of her blinged out watch face (she does that herself) and scrunchie wristband. Oh and if you are looking for something shiny, visit her Etsy shop. She'll get you all sparkled up. 

I love the picture with her kitty.

Thanks for hanging out and if you make one, please tag me on Instagram. I want to see what it looks like.  :)

Wondering if it's a scrunchie or scrunchy, 
Annette