About Your Custom Printed Headband

When you create a custom made headband, you take this popular style and make it completely yours. From animal print to abstract art, this personalized headband was made to be an extension of your style, so get creative. You've got a number of options to design your own headband so it will look exactly how you envisioned it. Start with smooth or bubble Nappa leather. Both choices are of premium quality, but the smooth is a bit sleeker, while the bubble Nappa has some character. You can also select the band's thickness at the top: 1" for a thinner band, or 1.25" for a thicker one. The thicker option is a great choice for someone with lots of hair as the added width can help pull everything back. The thinner option is a more subtle width, and perfect for those looking for a sophisticated hair accessory.

How Your Custom Headband is Made

Once you create the custom printed headband, we start printing on a blank piece of premium Nappa leather, either smooth or bubble depending on what you've selected. From there, our artisan leatherworkers cut the leather to shape and adhere it to the padding and band with precision. Your customized headband is finished with a black piece of smooth leather on the underside for added grip, and just like that, your customized headband is brought to life. We double check everything to ensure it's up to our standards, then it's sent straight to you from our studio. 

Sizing For Hemming And Shrinkage

We have a full Cut & Sew service here at Contrado, and are able to hem your fabric prints for a small additional charge. We create a small one- or two-fold hem that typically uses 0.2" to 0.75" (5-20mm) of material, depending on the thickness of the fabric. So, for example, if you want a finished piece of fabric that measures 39.37" x 39.37", you will need to order a size of 39.96" x 39.96" to allow for the hem (on top of that please also allow for shrinkage of min 2%). The thicker the fabric, the bigger the hem will be. You can choose to have your prints hemmed with either Black or White thread. On our silk and other light woven fabrics, one hemmed edge will be straight (vertically down the roll) and the other will be slightly rippled. The hemming material allowances are as follows and you need to make your print bigger to accommodate the hem:

• Light Fabrics (0.59oz-2.95oz): For silks and other light fabrics, we use 0.24" - 0.32" / 6mm-8mm in the hem (2 fold), so overall width/height will be minus 0.48"-0.56""/ 12-16mm
• Medium Fabrics (2.98oz-5.90oz): For medium-weight fabrics that fray, we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (2 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.4" - 1.6" / 35-40mm
• Stiff/Heavy/No-fray fabrics: we use 0.5 - 0.75" / 15-20mm in the hem (1 fold) so overall width/height will be minus 1.5" / 35-40mm

All of these measurements are approximate and can vary. Including with shrinkage, it can mean a fairly significant difference to ordered dimensions, so please plan your print accordingly. Depending on how open the weave is, our fabric can shrink anywhere from 2% to 8% with the average being 2.5%.

How Would you Like the Edge?

• As it comes. We cut around your image, leaving a simply scissor cut, perhaps uneven white fabric border. 
• Hem with thread. We can hem your fabric with a choice of black or white thread. Please allow 1-2 days additional production time. See below for information on how hemming affects the size of your print. We offer an overlock hem, as well as a folded hem (one or two fold depending on the fabric) however not all fabrics are suited to both hem types. If you can see both options, it means both are suitable, and you will be able to choose whichever you prefer. 
• Cut on the line. We will cut neatly on the edge of your design. This means that if you have a border around your design we will cut around that border, if your design takes the whole space of the fabric, then we will neatly cut around the edge of that image. Please be aware, when we cut along the line, we have to cut against the grain of the fabric. This is the standard procedure for fabric cutting. This means that with some fabrics, for example, Georgette and Mulmul, which have a slight wave in them, some fraying will occur. This is unavoidable, as the cut follows the grain of the textile. 

All of our fabrics are cut manually by hand, with the utmost care and attention. If your fabric has a slightly uneven look on the edges or a touch of fraying, this does not indicate a flaw in the textile. It is not always possible to achieve a perfectly straight cut with certain fabrics, so please do bare this in mind when it comes to your design. If you have any queries or would like to know about our cutting methods in more detail, please get in touch and we will be more than happy to discuss them with you.

Please note: As we make everything by hand, all sizes may vary slightly.

For further information about our fabrics see our FAQs.

Will this personalized headband slip while I'm wearing it?

Don't worry, we already thought of this. Your customized headband is made from 100% Nappa leather, including the underside that touches your hair. The smooth leather is perfect for staying in place, the intuitive curved design is just slim enough to hug your head without being uncomfortable.

What type of designs work best for this personalized headband?

Because the print area is long and thin, it's best to use repeat patterns and prints when you design your own headband. Text is also a great option as long as it doesn't overlap with the bleed area.

What is the personalized headband made of?

Your custom printed headband includes a plastic band in the middle to keep the shape, padding on top, and two pieces of premium 100% Nappa leather on either side. The top side is printed and comes in either smooth or bubble texture, while the underside is smooth black leather. The edges of the leather are painted black for that added touch of luxury craftsmanship.