Tennis rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe battled it out at Wimbledon in 1980. Each of the athletes donned a headband, to keep their long hair under control and sweat out of their eyes. Borg’s was striped and McEnroe’s was red. Their tennis games and styles were iconic.
Many of today’s active wear fabrics have 4-way stretch and demonstrate good recovery, wick and dry quickly, and are antibacterial. Stretch bamboo rayon jersey knit is one of these and has additional characteristics of softness and flowing drape. The textile is made from the pulp of bamboo grass. Bamboo grows quickly, requires no irrigation, fertilizer or pesticides, and regrows from its roots.
I found stretch bamboo rayon jersey knit and bamboo terry at a local fabric store. Using both fabrics, I sewed headbands (10 cm wide) and slouch beanies for outdoor activities. Consider wearing a headband under a bike helmet to keep your ears warm or a beanie to hike the Grouse Grind. As the headband-wearing Olivia Newton-John sang in her music video, let’s get physical.
Hats by Tracy J 