Tutorial: Easy Fabric Bows

My daughter's hair is just getting long enough now that her little bangs hang in her eyes.  I wanted some little clips to hold them off to the side and out of her face.  I made up a bunch of little fabric bows and attached them to alligator clips, they work like a charm and look cute too!

These bows only need a tiny strip of fabric and a little piece of ribbon, I was able to use a bunch of stuff from my stash.  The clips come in a box of 100 for just over $6 (I got mine at Sally's).  So not only are these bows adorable, but they are cheap too, score!

I made a whole army of them :)

To make a bow, start with a rectangle of fabric 3" x 7"

Then fold it in half and sew the long end with 1/4" seam allowance. (you don't need to use coordinating thread because none of the stitching will be visible)

Turn it right side out and press the seam in the middle.

Fold the ends into the center and overlap them just a bit.  Sew them in place.

Scrunch up the middle of the bow and wrap the middle with ribbon, I used 3/8" for all my bows.

Secure the ribbon at the back with glue, I like E600. Use a clothes pin to keep everything in place while the glue dries.

Don't have any coordinating ribbon?  Try yarn instead!

Once the glue is dry, attach your clip to the back.  I used the same ribbon to cover my clips before I attached them.

Once the glue dries on the clip your bow is ready to wear!  

You can just use it as a hair clip or clip it to a headband.

The finished bow measures about 1" wide and 3" long.  You can vary the size by using different size rectangles.  I made the bigger one in the photo below by using a 9"x4" rectangle. I used the bigger size for the bow I made Emily to match her t-shirt dress.

Try it out, they are fun!