Most bandanas come shaped as a square and usually have measurements close to 22 inches by 22 inches. However, if your bandana is larger than this, simply fold down each side until it measures 22 inches. You can use a sewing machine or needle and thread to sew each side of the bandana if it is too large. This will keep the sides in place and make it easier to construct a blindfold. You can also glue down the sides with tacky glue, hot glue, or simply fold them over and readjust them anytime they start to become unfolded.
If you have folded your bandana and it resembles a rectangle unfold it and refold it to look like a triangle. You are basically taking the 90 degree angle, or tip, of one side and folding it directly over so it meets the 90 degree angle, or tip, of the other side.
If you find that you are able to see through the bandana, you might need a darker bandana or one that is thicker so it won’t be so transparent. If the bandana is covering your eyes but you are able to see the ground, then you might have made the bandana too narrow. Unfold it back to the triangle and begin folding it again up towards the top of the triangle, but make bigger folds – closer to three inches.
If your fabric scraps are smaller than the above dimensions no worries! Just sew them together to make a rectangle about that size. This will create a blindfold with mismatched fabric, but that could be fun! Depending on what you are using your blindfold for will determine what kind of fabric you use. If this blindfold is for fun and games, any kind of fabric works, but if you are using it to sleep in, a softer fabric like felt or satin might be more comfortable. The elastic can be a thick piece or a thin piece, but make sure when you wrap it around your head there is no slack. If there is slack, when you sew it into your blindfold the band won’t stay around your head and so your blindfold will keep falling down.
To make sure this correctly fits around your head, flip the fabric over with the elastic on the outside and put it around your head, holding the edges of the elastic to the fabric in the same place you put them earlier. If it seems like there is too much slack in your elastic, you might cut a shorter piece, still leaving an inch or sew sticking out of the sides of the fabric.
This is not a necessary step, but will keep your blindfold from being a flat piece of fabric.
Start by sewing at the crease of the fabric, where it is flipped over, and sew along the side of the fabric through the elastic. Turn the corner and sew along the bottom of the blindfold until you are about half an inch to an inch away from the center of the blindfold. Then begin from the opposite side and start by sewing again at the crease until you are once again about half an inch to an inch away from the center of the blindfold.
This may take some maneuvering, but you will eventually get all of the fabric through the hole and then it will be the right side of the blindfold.
If you want your blindfold to look more like an eye mask, follow the same steps, but cut your fabric in the shape of an eye mask after your first fold. Then, continue the same steps such as sewing around it, leaving a hole, sewing the elastic to it, ect.
Although computer paper is fine, card stock will be better because it’s more sturdy and won’t fold and wrinkle as easily. Using a darker colored piece of paper will create a better blindfold, but if you only have white, then double it up by using two pieces and tape, glue, or staple them together.
Your staples can be any direction, but the best way to staple the elastic is to have the staple set horizontally along the elastic. You can staple it perpendicular to the elastic, but it won’t hold the elastic as well and you will risk the elastic slipping out of it.
You can decorate this blindfold as well or if you want it be more comfortable, glue a strip of batting to the back of it where your eyes rest. This blindfold is probably one of the easiest to make, but it may not be the most practical – you may be able to see the floor with it, but if what you’re using it for allows that, then it’s okay.
