I quickly grew tired of wearing an elastic-edge satin sleeping cap when I have my hair in rollers overnight, so I came up with this idea – ever so much more becoming and comfortable!

I started with a vintage rectangular head scarf of some smooth-yet-not-see-through fabric (probably polyester). It's not satin so it won't slide off the head as quickly, yet since it's smooth, it keeps the hair from tangling or getting too rough around the curlers. 

Mine measures 43 in. by 8 in., which I found to be the perfect size for a sturdy knot at the top without extra long ends to deal with.

Of course you can make your own scarf and serge or narrowly hem the edges yourself. 

Find the center of one long side of the scarf and mark it with a pin.

Next (you'll have to do some guesswork for yourself…) cut a piece of 1/4 in. elastic. Mine was 7 in. long.

The center of the elastic should end up where the pin is, but unless you're a perfectionist an inch or two one way or the other shouldn't matter.

Next stretch out the elastic and as it is stretched, sew it with a zig-zag stitch, similar to the pockets on my retro dishtowel apron:

This will gather the center of one long edge of the scarf so it looks like this on the wrong side…

…and like this on the right side.

Now the scarf will be in a loose U shape.

That means it will shape to the head better and you won't have any points sticking out.

And it's ready to tie around your curlers or updo, towards the front or back of your head as you wish! If I tie mine snugly enough for overnight, it stays on well with a few bobby pins at the front.

Rosie the Riveter, anyone?