Make a Blindfold
Blindfolds can be used for a number of things including party games, team building exercises, sleeping, and other activities. Most blindfolds you can make with items lying around your house, so it's a simple craft that doesn't require much effort or cash. There are a number of blindfolds that can be created for different purposes, each one serving a practical use and all requiring little skill to make.
Contents
Steps
Making a Blindfold from a Bandana
- Purchase or use an old bandana. It's very possible that you have an old bandana lying around the house, but if not, visit your local craft or fabric store and purchase a bandana. You can get them in almost every color, and they should be all the same size.
- Make a square with the bandana. Lay out the material on a table or on the floor and make a square with the material that is 22 inches by 22 inches.
- 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.
- Fold the bandana in half to make a triangle. After you have achieved your right size square, fold the bandana over so the corner of one side reaches the corner of the other side. This should make a triangle shape.
- 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.
- Fold the corner facing you. With the tip of the triangle pointed down, fold the corner two to three inches up, so that the tip now points towards the top of the triangle.
- Continue to fold the bandana. Just like the previous step, you will fold the bandana again two to three inches towards the top of the triangle. When you have done this action, it will now look somewhat like a long, narrow rectangle. Continue to fold the bandana like this, making folds that are about two to three inches, until you have reached the top of the bandana. The bandana should then look a very long, flat, upside down trapezoid.
- Tie the bandana on your head. Once you have folded the bandana, pick it up by both ends, wrap it around your head over your eyes, and tie it in the back with a double knot. Then, check to make sure you can't see anything through the bandana, below it, or above it.
- 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.
Making a Blindfold from Fabric
- Gather your materials. Visit your local fabric store to buy some fabric, or use fabric you have at home. The fabric should be about eight inches by nine inches, or a larger piece of fabric will work. You will also need a piece of elastic that is long enough to wrap around your head with a little extra.
- 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.
- Fold your fabric in half. Take the sides of the fabric that are eight inches and fold them in half, creating a rectangle that is four inches by nine inches.
- Place elastic band inside the fabric. Open up the fold you created and take the strip of elastic and place it inside the fabric lying in the middle of the side of your bandana that will be in the back. Leave about an extra inch of elastic side on each side of the fabric Fold the fabric back over and you should see one inch of elastic sticking out of each side.
- 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.
- Sew a piece of elastic in the middle of the blindfold. To create a wavy crease in the middle of your blindfold that will rest in between your eyes along your nose, cut a two inch piece of elastic and place it vertically in the middle of your blindfold, gathering your blindfold underneath it so it creates little creases or waves. Sew along the elastic.
- This is not a necessary step, but will keep your blindfold from being a flat piece of fabric.
- Sew around the edges. Using a needle and thread, or a sewing machine, sew a line around the sides of your fabric, sewing over the elastic. However, you need to leave a hole about an inch or two wide on the bottom of your mask so that you can turn it inside out.
- 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.
- Flip it right side out. Once you have sewn your fabric, leaving a one inch hole at the bottom, you can flip it so the right side is on the outside. Do this by taking the fabric and putting it through the hole.
- 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.
- Sew it shut. Now that you have turned your blindfold to the right side, it's time to sew it shut. Make sure the fabric is folded under so that the ragged edges don't show, and sew a line of thread along the hole, as close to the edge of the blindfold as possible.
- Add any embellishments to your blindfold. You may be satisfied with how your blindfold looks, but if you want to fancy it up a bit, add a bow or bedazzle it. This part is totally up to your creativity!
- 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.
Making a Blindfold from Paper
- Grab a piece of card stock or computer paper and some elastic. This blindfold is going to look more like a face mask rather than just a blindfold, but it fulfills the purpose if it is being used for something like a party game. You won't want to sleep in it though!
- 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.
- Lay the paper vertically on a table. Taking a pencil, mark about 2 and a half inches on each side from the top of the paper. This will be where you will attach your elastic.
- Attach your elastic. Taking your elastic, making sure it fits snuggly around your head with about an inch on each side to spare, attach it to your paper. The best way to do this for the most secure attachment is using a stapler. Attach it to the edge of your paper, where you previously marked the two inches.
- 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.
- Try it on. After you've finished your blindfold, try it on and see how it fits. If it doesn't fit exactly right, then detach the elastic and staple it again so that the blindfold fits perfectly.
- 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.
Tips
- If all you have is fabric scraps, you can make a very simple blindfold by cutting the fabric into a long strip and tying it around your head.
- It may help to measure your head before purchasing or cutting elastic, that way you'll know how much you need.
- Although you want the blindfold to be snug, don't make it so tight that it causes pressure on your eyes or your head.
Things You'll Need
- Fabric, paper, or a bandana
- Scissors
- Needle and thread, or a sewing machine
- Ruler
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