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I have to say this is one of the least practical projects, for me at least. I don’t even have little girls, but I do love the idea of anything vintage. To me the idea of hair rolled in little curlers is just that. I might have watched too many “I Love Lucy” reruns as a kid. I have thought before that I was born in the wrong generation, and would have probably fit in better back then. Has anyone else ever felt that way?
My Mother- In- Law and I talked about making these last year for the family beach trip, just to be funny and walk around the house with them in our hair. We never got a chance to make them, and the project got put on the back burner, until Shara, who has girls, needed a guest post. I knew this was the perfect excuse to make these cute little curlers. I shared this tutorial with her readers last month, and I thought now would be a good time to show you my cute creation.
What You Will Need:
- 12- 3 in x 10 in pieces of fabric
- Fiberfill
- Velcro
- Marking tool (chalk, water soluble pen or pencil)
- Something pointy to help with turning fabric and stuffing
- Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies
To Make:
- After you have your fabric cut to 3 in x 10 in, draw a line 3 1/2 inches from the each end. That will leave you a 3 in space in the middle of your fabric between each line.
- Fold fabric in half long ways. Sew along one short side and the long side. Clip your sewn corner so that there is less bulk when you turn.
- Turn right side out. Using some kind of pointy object to help push your corners out.
- Sew along the line closest to the closed end.
- Stuff with fiberfill until you almost come to the next line. A pointy object will help you again here with getting the stuffing in and push down where you need it to be. I use a pair of hemostats, but a pencil would work too.
- Sew as close as to the second line as you possibly can.
- Fold under your unfinished end, and sew in 1/8-inch from the end to close.
- Sew Velcro to the backside of one flap and the front of the other. The piece on the backside will be sewn about an 1-inch from edge and the piece facing you in the picture will be a 1/2-inch from edge. It really isn’t critical that you line your Velcro up like mine, I just found that worked best for me.
**If you have a little girl with fine hair, feel free to play with the size, thickness or even the placement of the Velcro to make a tighter curler.**
Katie Clark
What a great idea! I think these would be so much fun to make someday (if I have a daughter!)
brenna
Thanks, Katie. They are pretty fun to make. Maybe one day we will have girls to justify this on.
Christine at More Than Mommies
I love that these are no pinch And perfect to sleep in! Nice tutorial!
brenna
Thank you, Christine. I tested them out a lot to make sure they didn’t get caught or tangled in hair. I remember those horrible moments as a little girl.
Joannie Bartron
my Grandmother made these out of old diapers. They were perfect no pain sleeping in them, and curls all week
Joannie Bartron
my Grandmother used old diapers to make rollers. they did a beaautiful job., My hair stayed curly almost the whole 5 days of school
Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families
Those are cute, thank you for sharing this awesome idea. I will share this on pinterest.
brenna
Thank you so much, Christy.
Mariely
Love these! So cute! Great tutorial, Brenna. I have a little sister so I think I just found my excuse to make them 😉
brenna
Great, I hope she like them, Mariely.
Hezzi-D
You always have such great ideas! I would never think to make my own curlers.
brenna
Thanks, Heather! I spend to much time on Pinterest is what it is.
Sadie
I love these!
brenna
Thank you so much, Sadie.
Rachel @ I Love My Disorganized Life
These are way cuter than the ones my mom had for us!
Katelyn
Fun!! My mom wore curlers in her hair, but none this cute, or soft for that matter! Maybe someday I would attempt something like this. you need to show us how they make your hair!
brenna
I wish I had a little girl Katelyn, then I would totally show off the cute curls it makes. I’m just not quite so photogenic.
mary ann
I am so glad to find this. I will make these. They are very expensive in the stores. I like to use them to give my hair some soft curl and they really do the trick. I will be making these up sometime this week because my old ones are getting worn out.
brenna
I’m so glad you have found this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Can’t wait to see how they turn out for you!
Lyz
Hello Brenna,
When I was 10 years old, my father taught me how to make paper curlers to curl my long hair. I did not believe that his ingenious way of setting my hair would actually work. I grew up during an era of brown paper grocery bags that were little less than knee high and about 18 inches wide.
We would take the paper bag and:
First break down the bag by separating the seam that joined or formed the bag.
Then I would cut strips 9-10 in long and 1 1/8-1 1/2 in wide.
Each strip would then be twisted and rolled tightly starting at one end of the strip to the opposite
end of the strip, the result would be a paper roller.
This would be a strip that could be used to roll one’s hair unto the roller by grabbing a strand of hair
(depends on thickness) and rolling it unto the curler. once rolled onto the curler, you would then tie a
knot at the top of the roll.
One would have to get a feel of how much hair to roll and then be able to knot the curler once rolled.
One could get pretty innovative but first painting or designing an effect desired on the brown paper
bag before cutting them up in strips.
This roller really works and have used many times over the years and have taught my granddaughter
how to make and use this roller.
Try to construct as many cut the
brenna
What a neat idea! I will definitely have to try this.
L J
Great idea, my mom used to curl mine on some kind of paper and I’m, now, 66 years old. It worked fine too!
L J
I, absolutely, LOVE this idea! I’m gonna give it a try for sure!! Thank you!
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas
This is a fun project. I remember wearing pink sponge rollers in my hair when I was a kid. My mom was always trying to make my very straight hair curly.
cristi
First time here but I LOVE this! I have a seven year old little girl who is learning to sew and also happens to love curling her hair in socks! (Same concept!) I can’t wait to get her started on this project!
Linda
These would be great in a slightly smaller size for doing a doll’s hair. It would be less damaging to any wool. etc/
brenna
That is a great idea!
Carol Bellin
Love this idea, both for girls and their dolls! These should be easy to make and a good scrap buster as well. I’ll use a lot of small pieces on my granddaughters 8 AG dolls.
Erika
Wow! You are very creative! I was wondering, is it possible to sit under the hair dryer with these curlers on?
brenna
I have never tried it, but I don’t know why not. I don’t think they would get too hot since it’s just fabric and batting.
judy
And how are they used?? My Mother would curl my hair on her finger. My older sisters too.
brenna
We used them on my nieces hair and it turned out really well.
Lesley
Does the hair get caught in the Velcro?
brenna
We didn’t have that problem, but a different hair type might do different.
Peach
I purchased a set of these and they were cost a lot. Also, seem like they had covered sponge roller and added a wire. After a while the wire might poke you. I like this version better, but I will use satin scraps and maybe make some larger rollers.
Virginia Basham
I’m gonna make a couple sets for my great granddaughters and I think I’ll use fabric with their favorite characters on them like Minnie Mouse and the Frozen characters. Thank you so much for sharing these curlers with us.
Lisa // Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing & Crafting
Oh my goodness, my mind is BLOWN! I never would’ve thought that you could make simple fabric curlers like this! I would’ve loved these years ago when I used to curl my hair. I have half a mind to sew some up and try them with my daughter! Sharing! 🙂 Lisa
Barbara Brizendine
Years ago I used to perm my hair but have since thrown away all the curlers. I recently have decided to perm again but can not find any curlers in the store. I am going to try this. Wish me luck.
Carol
Love this idea. How do you put them in?
Tracy Maurstad
Thank you for this! I’m researching heatless hair styling and came across your post. I love that I’m not the only one thinking “buy rollers?! ppfff! surely I can make my own.”