How To Make A Reflective Athletic Headband

Top: EasyReflective in normal lighting. Bottom: EasyReflective catching the light from the camera flash.

Crown yourself (or a friend!) the 5k queen with this DIY headband. Just use the king of reflective heat transfer vinyl, EasyReflective, to decorate with safety and style. EasyReflective is Siser’s latest reflective HTV that will undeniably dash to the top of your list if you use other reflective transfers. Because, unlike other reflective materials, EasyReflective has a pressure sensitive carrier (just like EasyWeed™ heat transfer vinyl!) that allows for smooth weeding. Additionally, EasyReflective can be applied at a low temperature. While the recommended settings are 305°F with light-medium pressure for 15 seconds, for this project I applied at a much lower temp. Keep reading to find out why!

To begin working with EasyReflective, identify the face of the material. (*HINT* It’s the super shiny, reflective side.) The face of the material is also the side with the clear carrier attached. This side always goes face down no matter what kind of HTV you use.

This leaves the duller side face up, which we call the adhesive side since- you guessed it!- it’s the side with the adhesive backing.

When you’ve smoothed the EasyReflective on to the cutting mat, load it into the cutter and send your design from Silhouette Studio. Not sure how to load your Silhouette Cameo? Read this post. I found my typical EasyWeed settings worked for EasyReflective: Heat Transfer Smooth, Blade: 2, Speed: 8, Thickness: 4. However, everyone’s cut settings will vary depending on how old your blade is, so you may have to adjust yours.

After the heat transfer vinyl is cut, unload the cutting mat from the Cameo and trim the sheet of HTV down so you’re only working with your cut design. Now you can use your Siser Weeder to hook and peel out the unneeded pieces of EasyReflective.

I also cut out some hot pink Glitter jewels to complete the crown.

Here’s where the benefit of a low application temperature comes back in– This athletic stretch headband is a mix of spandex and nylon. When using nylon, we always recommend to test press a spare to see how it will react to heat. I also recommend these 4 more tips for applying on heat sensitive items. Well, the HTV may have applied during my test press, but the headband itself was no longer fit for even a home work out. So I junked one headband, but I came away with a useful lesson, and made sure to lower my heat press temperature to 280°F for the second attempt.

With the heat press warming up, I stretched the headband onto a 6″ x 8″ heat transfer pillow. This pillow is essential to a good press on the headband.

Not only does it keep the pressing area smooth and flat, it also allows for the knotted back to sink into the pillow, maintaining proper pressure.

Set the headband on the lower platen of the heat press, and center the EasyReflective tiara with the sticky side of the carrier down. Cover everything with a heat transfer cover sheet and press for 5 seconds. EasyReflective is a warm peel, so remove the garment from the press and wait at least 15 seconds before peeling the carrier.

A tiara is nothing without gemstones! Set your Glitter gems into the cavities, place a cover sheet on top, and press for 5 seconds. Glitter is also a warm peel, so you can follow the same steps for removing the carrier.

While it may appear that the HTV is adhered at this point it’s really only tacked on. Short presses are best for layering HTV (like in this project) to keep the vinyl from shrinking and throw off the layer alignment, but you still need to be sure the HTV has received sufficient heat to be long lasting. Since I applied this headband at 280°F it will require an extra 10-20 seconds of pressing time to make up for the lower temperature application. So, I recovered the pressing area with a cover sheet and pressed for an additional 15 seconds. This final press also eliminates any carrier impressions on the first layer of HTV that was left behind by the second.

Now you can rock your reflective tiara day or night! EasyReflective has glass bead technology that captures and reflects the light for a bright shine. Staying visible in low light conditions is essential for safety, so next time you head out, consider what’s keeping you noticeable. If the answer is nothing then the solution is EasyReflective!