Homemade Hair Donut/Bun Maker From Socks- Tutorial

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'd know that one of the things I get the biggest kick out of is taking things that were destined for the trash, and repurposing it into something useful. I love doing that with food, and that's when I do it the most, but I also really enjoy crafting and making useful items with "trash".
Take socks, for example. Often they get holes on the bottom, especially mine do, since I alwayls wear socks around the house without shoes, and that wears through them pretty quickly. So when socks are no longer usable (and I mean after I've already darned the small holes), I've actually made some projects with those socks.


Take this necklace, for example, which I made from old socks.

I also made this cute upcycled sock headband.

And even this crocheted backpack was made from old socks.

So when my friend, S, told me about this bun maker she made for her kids out of old socks, I was intrigued.

You see, it's because I have thin hair, and when I try to make a bun with just my hair, its not a very substantial bun. 

When I was a ballet dancer when I was in middle school and high school, I was always jealous of the other girls' perfect buns, especially come recital time. Had I known about this super easy trick, using a hair donut to make the perfect bun, especially since it's free and super easy to make... it would have been cool.

I wear buns often now. And now that S taught me how to make a sock hair donut, it is my standard accessory, worn nearly every time I make a bun.

And it looks great.

So, here's how you make it.

Take a sock, ideally a cotton sock, that no longer is usable. (As you can see, the elastic at the top was shot, in addition to the holes in the heels.) A knee sock is ideal, since it will give you more volume, but you can also do this with a shorter sock.

After washing it well, cut off the toe portion of the sock.

Start rolling the sock up from the toe portion of the sock. The reason for this is two-fold. Since you put the cut edge on the inside, it stops fraying. Also, this ensures that the bump by the heel is at the inside, so that by the time you roll up the hole thing, the heel bump doesn't affect the hair donut's shape.

Roll up the whole thing like that, until the very end.

If, like me, your sock ends in the middle like this, that's not so great for the shape of the donut. Pull it out further, so that you're able to pull it over the edges of the donut.

If need be, sew the edges of the sock donut to secure it.

Now, to use, just put your pony tail in through the hole in the donut, spread your hair out over the donut in all directions, like a "fountain", then pull it down over and around the bottom of the donut and secure your hair, either with hair pins, or, as I prefer, another pony tail holder.

If you would prefer a video tutorial, you can watch this youtube video, or countless others, about how to use your hair donut/bun maker.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you have lighter hair, you may want to use a lighter colored sock for this.

What do you do with your old socks? Any projects? Do you ever wear buns? Do you use a hair donut? If so, how much did one cost you to buy? Ever hear of making a bun maker from old socks? Does this look like something you'd try?