DIY Pirate Bandanas

There is nothing cuter than little kids in cute hats, right?  When planning the boys’ birthday party I knew that I wanted to create a bandana for each of the little partygoers.  The ones I found in online shops and party stores were all either too scary (no scary pirates here!) or cowboy-like.  Instead, I bought some inexpensive fabric from Joann Fabric and cut my own 20″ by 20″ inch squares to DIY pirate bandanas.

Since pirates are not known for their finely tailored clothing, you should leave the bandana edges unfinished if you choose to make your own bandanas.  You’ll keep with the rough look of a pirate while saving yourself a lot of time.

DIY Pirate Bandanas Tutorial:

1. Cut a 20″ by 20″ piece of cheap fabric.
2. Fold the bandana fabric diagonally through the middle and iron a crisp seam.
3. Iron on your heat-transfer design.  I ironed an octopus with a pirate patch onto each bandana, with the octopus placed in the middle of the bandana along the fold, with the legs pointing toward the fold.  I had cut the octopi out onto heat transfer vinyl from a shape found in the Silhouette store – before my machine went all crazy Saturday afternoon (I’m waiting not-so-patiently for 9 AM MST today so I can call the company for technical support!).  The pirate-patch octopus is also randomly a design being shown in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog this spring (and I may just have one of their octopus-adorned backpacks wrapped in the basement as a gift for my almost-ready-to-go-to-school younger son.).

The cost of these bandanas was much less than what it would have cost me to buy bandanas individually at the store – and they are way cuter!  Paired with the pirate patches we made earlier this spring, we’ve created a pirate party that is jolly and fun, not scary and violent.  The boys love their bandanas, and I hope these help the other kids get into the pirate spirit!

Look for more pirate and mermaid party items over the next few weeks as we reveal details from the party – including the launch of Katzville Creations, our printable party shop, featuring innovative and educational parties for kids ages 1 through 7!