Women's bandana: the 55 x 55 cm cotton square with a paisley print

One square, one fibre, one print. What is left to decide is how you fold it, and how hard the paisley reads against the colour behind it.

What every bandana here has in common

Whichever colour you pick, the specification underneath does not move.

Reading the paisley against its colour

On dark colours the paisley is printed in white, and the teardrop shapes carry across a room. The white bandana turns that round: on it the pattern is black. Pink takes both inks at once, so it rewards a closer look. A dark colour carries the print unaided, which is why navy and black suit an outfit with nothing else going on. Paler colours are quieter, and they will put up with a second printed piece nearby.

Tying a 55 cm square

As a triangle

Fold the square once along the diagonal and the base comes out at roughly 78 cm. Enough to go round a head, a bun or a neck with nothing left to tuck away. Over the hair, set the fold behind the hairline and knot at the nape. Round the neck, wrap once and knot at the front or slightly to one side, point down. Tie it tight on fine hair; thick hair holds the square without help.

Rolled into a band

Roll the square from two opposite corners until the band is three or four centimetres wide. On a wrist it stands in for a bracelet. On a plain bag handle it becomes the only colour the bag has. Larger squares meant for the shoulders do a different job, and they sit with the bigger squares made for draping.

Washing and keeping a printed cotton bandana

A surface print wants a plain routine: machine wash at 30 °C, dry in the open air, warm iron only if the fabric has creased. Bleach is the one thing to keep away, since it eats into the pattern. Several models are hemmed, which stops the edges fraying after repeated washes. Cotton creases as it dries, and that hardly matters on something you are about to knot. The other formats, square and patchwork alike, sit in the wider scarf range.

Two questions before you choose

Which colour should a first bandana be?

Black or navy, if you want it to go with most things and let the white paisley do the talking. Red is louder: it lifts a plain outfit and fights a printed one.

Does 55 cm work with long hair?

It does, as long as the hair is gathered before you tie. Over a low ponytail or a bun, fold the square into a triangle, wrap the long edge over the elastic and let the point fall clear.