DIY: Sock Bun

{Although Jared was really pushing for the title ‘Put a sock inside to make it look bigger’. HAAAA. Boys!}

So. I have been cursed with really fine, baby thin hair. My hair holds no curl from an iron and looks pretty pathetic in a bun (as evidenced in the left photo above).
But brilliance! I just learned this trick from a friend and have been wearing my hair like this practically every day since. The sock bun trick! Wanna see how it works?

Start with your hair in a ponytail. Higher or lower depending on where you want the bun.

Take an old sock that blends well into the color of your hair highlights. Smell it first to make sure it’s washed. Then cut off the tip. I started first with a longer sock but it was too big for my thin hair.

Roll it gently up, like so, until you have a nice donut looking shape.

Put your ponytail through the center of the donut, the same way you would put on a rubberband (or scrunchie in middle school).
Now. Holding the sock in place with one hand, carefully spread out your hair around the curves of the sock until the hair feels like it’s evenly distributed. For really fine hair like mine you may need a mirror to make sure it covers all of the sock (that’s also why a similar colored sock is a good idea).

When it feels pretty well distributed (you can adjust it later too), grab another rubber band and tie it around at the base to hold it in place.

It will probably look like this at this point. Kind a messy. A good time to grab your hand held mirror and make any adjustments.

If you have thin and/or shorter hair you can simply wrap the hair around the base of the bun and kind of tuck it in. If you have longer and/or thicker hair you might need to use a couple bobby pins or braid it first.

Voila! Fancy, thick looking sock bun! You can add a scarf or ribbon around the base if you want to cover up the extra hair as well. How would you style a sock bun?

Comments

Wow! Such a beautiful idea! My hairs are too thin for big buns but I luv big buns. Thank you for sharing this. Now I can make big buns on my thin hair ๐Ÿค—โ€ฆ

Regards,
Triana

LOL you got me on Smell it first to see if it has been washed

Stealing your last look with the sort of handkerchief bow. Love. <3

This was perfect for a quick rainy day hair style! I love it!honuandsweetie.blogspot.com

Sock bun is brilliant! I tried it today and in less than five minutes I had a ballet ready big pretty bun.Great DIY!VIVA SOCKBUN!

excellent! I saw a donut to make buns but luckily I didnยดt buy it

Lol I can't beleive this sock bun made your blog! Its a known secret among cadets and military women who have thin hair…Love it!

I don't use the first hair band, I just pull my hair through the sock bun form, then use a band over that. Then I section into two parts and braid each section,then wrap the braids around the bun and poke the ends into the bun to hide them, using a couple of small bobby pins.

What a clever idea! I only wish my hair were long enough to make one.

like the hair 'fall's used in the 1960's. Great idea~ I have the same colour and texture of hair as you & could never, ever get a bun to look good. I chopped it all off, now you've made me want to grow it out again! Thank you ๐Ÿ˜‰

just found your blog today, and i love you for this!! seriously, love is not enough. i recently took my almost 2 year old son to his first swim lessons and looked like a bald person by the end of the swim. i will be cutting many old blondish socks (clean, of course) for this splendid idea. Thank you thank you. julia

sadly I have too much hair for this idea. But I'm glad it works for you!

That is awesome! At first I didn't think it would work for me because I have thick hair that is too short for a bun, but actually because of that this actually worked perfectly for me too! Thanks for sharing this, I think this is going to be my new favorite hair style!

This is amazing! I will be trying this as soon as I get home tonight.

"Smell it first to make sure it's washed."Oh, Liz. You are the BEST.

Thankyou for the Brillant tip. i have thicker hair and alot of it but this works great for me too!!!

This is so great! I just tried it and it worked! Thanksfor the tip!

i have the same hair! this is an old ballet trick i use to do.

I just recently came across your blog and LOVE it. I don't comment a lot on any blog but now I just have to because this totally made my day. Genius! Up to now I had only seen these ugly frizzy plastic "donuts" for your hair but socks are so much more comfy, they're besically free AND you can wash them from time to time!Thanks so much for another lovely tutorial!

what a great diy! i stumbled on your blog via rachel from elephantine. ๐Ÿ™‚ i gotta try this now, especially when i have thin fine hair. thanks!!!

My little ballerinas will thank you for this. Actually, the littlest one might not. She sort of hates having her hair done! But the older one and her mom (ME) will for sure!

Grass is greener. I'm always envious of tiny hair buns and thin hair. Wanna trade?The sock bun is ingenious, btw.

I do this to my hair…minus the sock but + lots of teasing. Your way is much better ๐Ÿ™‚ I wish girls in salt lake did their hair like this more, i don't see it very often!Smoking Crayolas Blogspot

LOVE it ๐Ÿ™‚ This is the military bun too. I had heard they used a sock to get it so neat & tidy but had no idea how that worked. Me and my sad scraggley hair will be looking for a black sock to try this out. I especially love your scarf!! A fun fall scarf would be super fun right about now ๐Ÿ™‚ I "pinned" this post ๐Ÿ™‚

i used something similar to make a bun for ballet class when i was younger and had shortish hair! it was a wand made of stiff wire that was covered with foam, and you wrap your ponytail around the wand and then bend it into a circle. the sock is pretty much free though!

Love this Liz. I totally have the thinnest hair since I had my son. This would help. Thanks!

what a great little trick!! i usually do high top knots/messy buns but this is nice for a more polished look! i also reallllly love the scarf tied into a bow around it ๐Ÿ™‚

OMG, I love this so much! I suffer from baby thin hair too. Now I need to find a brown sock . . .

I actually love the messy bun before all the tucking! I desperately need a brown sock now!

I heard about this method a few weeks – so happy to see it really works!!

Yes! I love this! I totally was thinking the other day how sad my hair looks in a bun.

I've seen the little doughnuts for hair, but this is so much easier to make and personalize. Thanks for posting!

I use to do this with a scrunchie when I was younger. lol love the blog

Awesome tip! I have always wondered how people get buns like that. I had something similar for my wedding but it was behind my head so I didn't get a good view of him doing it. I"m growing my hair out at the moment, which means I'll need this info in, oh, about three years! P.S. – I'm doing a Shabby Apple giveaway at my blog – is it okay it say that here? If not, please delete!

Wow, that is quite clever. Well done.- Sarahhttp://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/

These pictures are so cute to me for some reason. Like I can sense you smiling but we can't see it!

Adorable, cute and easy! The nest tutorial I need is a SUPER easy french braid. I've been practicing and I'm getting better but it's hard to do on your own head!

Dee Dee, yes I was planning that for another tutorial..the sock bun curls!

Rebecca! Yes! My final dream as well. I should have grabbed a photo from her blog. She's so rad

Hey lisa, so you knew about it this whole time?? it's a j.crew skirt actually but it looks like something from zara as well

i love sock buns. is that the zara skirt? i'm planning on trying to recreate it.. someday…

I love Jared's sense of humor – and that one of your instructions was to sniff the sock first.This is so cute!

YES! I did this the other day, and it TOTALLY works. Lasts all day, and now I can finally look like Blair from Atlantic Pacific ๐Ÿ˜‰

Oh awesome, thank you for sharing. I too have fine hair…yay for sock buns ๐Ÿ™‚ I love the additional scarf too!

Have you made sock bun curls? The curls last all day! If your hair won't normally hold curl you should try it.

great tutorial! i've heard of the sock bun but i didnt know how it was done. xoxo jillian:: don't miss my ayofemi jewelry giveaway

Very pretty and such a good idea! My hair always looks so depleted when I try to make a bun with it. Thanks!

Ah, I love this! I also suffer from tiny, sad looking buns. I will be digging through my old socks immediately.

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