The bandana is an extremely versatile accessory. The Paisley bandana, in particular, is a quintessentially American symbol that stands out among Paisley designs. Despite being overlooked by many, it serves a wide range of purposes.
Despite originating in ancient Persia and Kashmir, and made popular through the mass production of weavers in Paisley, Scotland (where it gets its name from), the Paisley bandana print has become as American as apple pie.
While the famous Paisley bandana pattern is now applied to many items, one of our all-time favourites being the Paisley iPhone case,, we wanted to start our series of articles with the one item that has carried the Paisley brand for much longer than most.
And since we like to think differently here at Just Paisley, we decided it might be fun to develop alternative uses for that blue Paisley bandana that has squatted so patiently in your sock drawer.
We like to deal in round numbers, so here are 13 uses for your bandana - some of which might be described as quirky and some might just save your life.
1. Paisley Bandana Hair tie
So, you hear the term ‘Paisley bandana’ and you immediately think about which town that badass actress Anna Kendrick got herself banned from now. Maybe not!
But maybe - and more likely - you do think about wearing a bandana as a hair tie. While it has probably been around for as long as people have had hair, the bandana hair tie first came to prominence in the early 20th century. When women started to work in factories, particularly during the huge production effort of World War Two, a bandana quickly became the go-to device for keeping their hair from getting tangled up in industrial machinery - considered important for continued life.
This period also coincided with organised labor movements wearing hair bandanas to highlight that they were part of a group – a use that other groups have since adopted.
Key Point: Bandanas can be official, semi-official, unofficial, or non-official – in short, any way that can be applied to the word ‘Official’.
Additional Key Point: Your ‘Official’ can be someone else’s ‘Unofficial’. For example, a biker gang might require all its bikers to wear a red Paisley bandana. To the outsider, this could seem official. To the individual biker, though, I am sure they have not been presented with it, signed for it, or in the case where they have bought it themselves, presented it for inspection and acceptance to the Biker Bandana Committee.
2. Headcover
The bandana can cover your head for whatever reason you want it - to cover your hair or even your lack of hair. Think about grizzly bikers! Then, think about grizzly bears! They are not related.
Here are a few random ‘To’ reasons why you might want to cover your head with a bandana:
1. Stop your dandruff from falling into your food (or anyone else’s food if your dandruff is particularly active).
2. Hide a bad hairdo – the hair bandana is a godsend!
3. Accessorise against something you wear – e.g. a Paisley watch band.
4. Hide that your hair is an absolute mess. Let’s face it unless you have your eyes on the parent of one of your kid’s school friends, there is no reason to ‘do’ up your hair for the school run.
5. Make yourself look badass, but maybe not Anna Kendrick badass. (Anna Kendrick is one of my favourite actresses – wide-eyedly beautiful and funny. I’m not sure she’s a badass, but I hope she is!)
6. Protect against bird droppings - dropped from the sky, not already on the ground (unless you are rolling around on the grass).
7. Shield against misdirected hairspray or deodorant (but not roll-on deodorant).
8. Hide a tattoo obtained stupidly on a drunken night out, a part-shaved head, or both.
9. To help you look like a pirate. The pirate bandana look is eternally popular with kids (of all ages), me hearties!
You could want to cover your head with a bandana for many other reasons, but 9 seems to be a nice round number to stop.
3. Carrying device (Bindle)
A bindle is that carry-wrapping cloth popularised in old movies when fresh-faced young runaways make it to the end of the street before their dad grabs them by the ear and frogmarches them back to their immaculately maintained bedroom.
Used with a stick, preferably a Paisley walking stick, today’s youth would probably place their cell phone in it (if it was not glued to their hand). A black Paisley bandana makes a perfect bindle, and in the spirit of ‘How To’ articles, if you want to carry something in your bandana, then:
Step 1
Purchase your Paisley walking stick or find an old stick.
Step 2
Spread your unfolded bandana down, preferably on a flat surface. Place the items you intend to wrap as close to the centre of the bandana as possible.
Step 3
Pick up two diagonally opposite corners of the bandana and tie them together. Pull the ends of the knot to tighten it. (If you want to learn how to tie a knot, this article is not for you. I know how to tie a knot, but I don’t know how to describe how to tie a knot – so please go elsewhere for that).
Step 4
Bring the other two diagonally opposite corners together, along with the first knot, and tie them to the stick, thereby closing the bindle.
Voila! Or as they say in France, ‘Regardez là ’!
Key Point: The item or items being tied mustn’t be larger than the width of the bandana. If not, the bandana would not fold over and you could not tie a knot – if you know how to tie a knot.
4. Handkerchief
It should be ‘headkerchief’ because… and they seem to be getting a disproportionately high level of mention here… the French ‘Couvrir-chef’ literally means ‘To cover head’, but for some reason known only to the British – and I am British – the British called it ‘Handkerchief’.
The bandana makes a perfectly huge handkerchief - ideal for the bigger-nosed person or the constant sneezer. A normal handkerchief does not reciprocate and cannot serve as a bandana unless you have a small head… an extremely small head… like, maybe the size of a baby’s head.
5. Bank Robber Mask
This is self-explanatory.
Key Point: There may be consequences to using your bandana in this way. Most of them are bad… very bad.
6. Thong (Or in most cases, loincloth)
Enough said!
7. Earplugs
This requires the bandana to be cut into much smaller portions.
Key Point: The bandana will no longer be a bandana after this. If cut into four pieces, it will still fulfill one of the requirements for being a bandana i.e. pieces will be square, but it will now consist of four mini-bandanas or more accurately, four little pieces of cloth that are useless for anything but being earplugs or babies’ handkerchiefs.
8. Censoring device
When glued to a TV screen, the bandana will prevent any inappropriate content from being viewed.
Key Point: The bandana could be used as a blindfold in this situation but when multiple people need to be prevented from viewing, the TV glueing option is generally considered better.
9. Little accident coverer
Let’s face it, we all have the odd ‘little accident’. A bandana can be used to cover up these ‘little accidents.’ This may involve the permanent sacrifice of the bandana, however, if you are attached to your bandana – not literally – or maybe even literally – the bandana can be retrieved and washed for future use. Better you than me!
10. Earrings
This will again require butchering the bandana, and all the rules at Earplugs above apply.
Key Point: This use requires a hole being cut in the half bandana to allow it to be placed over the ear. (I would not recommend this use – it looks stupid!)
11. Anklechief
Worn for the same reason you would wear a neckerchief around your neck, but not a handkerchief around your hand, an anklechief makes a beautiful fashion accessory.
Key Point: An anklechief is best worn with shorts or shorter skirts. If worn with long pants, it won’t be seen. Worn outside long pants – well you might also wear your underwear outside!
12. Board Game
A bandana with a board game printed on it can be very useful for those boring evenings on vacation.
Key Point: It will only be useful if you bring all the other game pieces. However, be prepared for someone to say, ‘You brought the box, all of the pieces, why did you not bring along the actual board?’
There is a good answer to this question. ‘Because we are limited in what we can bring over the border.’ If you have not crossed a border, it is time to improvise – say, ‘I did not want to weigh down the car.’
Additional Key Point: This use only applies if a board game motif is printed on the bandana. An exquisite Paisley Pattern bandana motif might be good for running your index finger along one of the teardrops – as if you were going on a journey – but this does not constitute an actual game.
It will also be boring for other people watching unless they select another Paisley teardrop on the bandana and do the same thing. There is a likelihood that with multiple players doing this at the same time, fingers will meet. Come to think of it, there possibly is a board game here – and let’s face it, it’s probably more fun than just throwing sets of keys into a bowl.
13. Midget Ghost Coverer/Discoverer
Ideal for covering any midget ghost (unisex) up to 6 inches tall, the bandana is perfect for capturing that troublesome midget ghost. Of course, once you have gotten to know the midget ghost, and have decided to co-habit, the bandana can be used as a duvet by the midget ghost (if it ever sleeps).
Key Point: If you have decided against co-habiting (and I hope that is not because of what the neighbours would think), the bandana will serve as a beautiful going-away present for the midget ghost. Indeed, it is something it will truly remember you by.
Additional Key Point: If you are kicking the midget ghost out, the least you can do is sew up the sides of the bandana to create a sleeping bag. Midget ghosts are known to sleep on the ledges of skyscraper buildings. They are rarely troubled there and if they fall off, the only injury is to their pride. Indeed, this has an upside for them – when they go back into the elevator, there’s always that chance to scare the early arrival in the office.
Let’s face it, nobody believes these people when they say they are not coming in early just to impress the boss, so why would people believe them when they say they have just seen a midget ghost?
Note: These Paisley bandanas are far too beautiful to be used as anything other than a bandana.