20 DIY Hair Accessories to Make from Materials You Already Own

One thing that, in retrospect, I’m probably glad I didn’t know in advance about parenting teenagers is the hair.

My teenagers have so. Much. HAIR!!!

Hair in a braid. Hair in a bun. Hair meticulously trimmed into curtain bangs, the trimmings left on the floor, of course. So much shampoo. So much conditioner. So much hair gel and hairspray. So much vacuuming, and then so much untangling of long, blonde hairs out of vacuum brushes. Hairbrushes and scrunchies in every Christmas stocking and Easter basket. Only one store, always inconveniently located, that sells the only correct make and model of hair ties and bobby pins.

All that to say that, in my extensive experience, there is ALWAYS someone in your life who could use more hair accessories. And homemade hair accessories, especially when they’re crafted from the scraps and stash of your craft supplies, or upcycled from other items, are an easy, fun way to add some personality to your wardrobe while beefing up your supply of always-necessary hair stuff.

Here, then, are my favorite hair accessories to DIY!

Hair Accessories Made from Scrap and Stash Materials

scrunchies. The fabric required for scrunchies is minimal, and the elastic requirement is even less! I especially love to make scrunchies from holiday and novelty prints. They make SUCH quick and easy gifts.

tulle bun holders. This is a tied tutu for your hair! The individual strips of tulle that the tutorial calls for are small enough to use up even your scrappiest scraps of tulle. And there’s no worries about needing enough of a single color, because multi-color bun holders are just as cute!

tulle scrunchies. Here’s another way to use tulle to make a fun hair accessory–especially if you’ve got any soft embellishments, like sequins, pom poms, or felt cut-outs to include.

animal ear hair clips. The fleece and faux fur that this tutorial calls for are both polyesters, but the project needs such small amounts of them that I bet you can score them somewhere. Otherwise, try wool felt, velvet, or another natural fabric with a lot of texture.

ribbon-embellished hair clips. Adding ribbon to an alligator clip is super simple, and will let you match ALL THE THINGS.

suede and fabric headbands. This is an interesting combo of materials that makes a unique hairpiece.

stenciled fabric scrap hair clips. Your stash of fabric scraps will become a LOT more versatile when you remember that you can paint them to have whatever color and design you want! Look for a water-based fabric paint as the most eco-friendly choice.

crocheted scrunchies. Never fear if you’re a fiber artist instead of a sewer–you, too, can use up your scraps making hair accessories! Here’s a tutorial for crocheting a scrunchie around a hair tie. Feel free to use up ALL your yarn scraps making them, because they are adorable!

knit hair bows. Here’s a pattern for you knitters, because surplus yarn is everybody’s business!

FOE hair ties. Got 8.5″ of fold-over elastic leftover from your latest project? If so, then you’ve got a hair tie!

scarves. If you’ve got some stash wire on hand, you’ve got the secret ingredient to make this hair scarf.

reversible fabric headbands. Novelty prints and holiday prints are also really fun to use to make these headbands! And because the headband is reversible, you can have a plain “business” side and a fun “party” side.

Hair Accessories Made from Upcycled Materials

hair ties from upcycled tights. A pair of tights with a run in it isn’t a ruined pair of tights–it’s a month’s worth of hair ties in the making! These hair ties made from upcycled tights won’t have the longevity of a store-bought elastic tie, but the way my kids run through hair ties like they’re water, I’ll take even a temporary stoppage in the flow!

button-embellished bobby pins. Attaching a vintage button to a plain bobby pin turns it into a delightful hair accessory! Hand-stitch the button to the bobby pin if you want to preserve it for another project later, or super glue it for permanency.

button-embellished headbands. If you’ve got LOTS of buttons to upcycle, make a headband!

headbands from a leather bag. Need a cruelty-free way to craft with leather? The answer is in the thrift store! I love this leather headband, created from elastic and leather upcycled from a cosmetics bag. You can substitute vinyl, pleather, or any similar material for the leather.

hair pins from earrings. Follow this tutorial to turn a vintage earring into a unique hair pin. It’s the perfect solution for an earring that’s lost its soulmate!

candy wrapper hair bows. The dangerous part of this tutorial is how long it will take you to go from upcycling candy wrappers into hair bows to seeking out ever cuter new candy to buy just to “upcycle” the wrappers into hair bows…

T-shirt turban headbands. Use the bottom of a T-shirt to make a simple, no-sew, no-fuss headband.

tie-dyed headbands from T-shirts. Want something a little more elaborate from your upcycled T-shirt? Tie-dye it first!