Make your Bandana Into a Sun Hat

Remembered bandana, forgot sunhat? Ooopsy!
A couple of days ago I mentioned in one of my travel packing posts that I had figured out a neat way to make a quick sunhat if you are caught out hiking (or whatever) without one and happen to have tied a bandana around your neck before starting out. Here is what it looks like.

It's really simple if you a) have a bandana, b) wear stud earrings or c) have a safety pin in your pocket (a cactus spine would work, too, if one just happens to present itself to hand).

1. Fold the bandana in half, cornerwise, and put it on your head with the point hanging down over your nose. Tie it behind your head at the nape of your neck. If you don't have a fastener, you can use it this way, although you will probably find the point hanging in front of your nose a tad annoying.

2. Remove the bandana from your head and fold up the point (both layers) about 1½" or, say, the width of a Snickers bar, or maybe the width of two fingers. You may fold up more or less as you please, since it's not crucial.

3. Remove a stud earring and poke it through the four layers to secure the flap. A light-weight earring won't drag the front edge down.

4. Tie the bandana back on.

5. Smile (optional).

I plan ahead and just keep an old earring poked into one corner of my bandana. (The one in the picture here is a little silver frog. I lost the other earring). When you roll the bandana for other purposes, it folds completely out of the way, though a nice-looking earring can be left to show as a decoration.

(Guys, maybe your wife or girlfriend will give you a spare. Or you could go shopping (pretend it's for a lady friend if you want). Or you might be happier with a safety pin, which you can just leave pinned to a corner of the bandana.)

You may choose to fold up the bandana point and fasten it before you tie the knot. Your choice.

A cactus spine could be used like the safety pin ~ minus the "safety" part {grin}.

This isn't haute couture, but it will keep the sun out of your eyes and protect your head from heat and solar UV. If you only want the shading effect over your eyes, roll the bandana into a band, tie it around your head like a sweat band, then untuck enough of the point to shade your eyes.

Oh yeah! I meant to show you how small my travel throw/blanket folds up, in order to tuck it neatly into the carry-on luggage. Here 'tis, snugged up with a velcroed band.

You can see I'm still in travel mode here. But I'd better get moving on preparing for the big Art Show and Studio Sale ~ it's coming up in about 3 weeks!

Hasta luego!