With fall fashion in full swing I wanted to share a few accessory tutorials. I’m always tempted by bows and headbands in the store but they can be so expensive! So in this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make hand tied fabric bows that clip to your hair!
Sewing fabric bows is so easy and very cheap! All you need are a few scraps of fabric!
These are the cutest bows for a little girl! And you can even clip them to your dog’s fur for a silly dog hair accessory.
I made a two different sizes that are great for pigtails, ponytails and even dog hair clips! To make a bow headband, just tie the bow around a piece of headband elastic! I recommend a soft headband if you are making a baby bow. You can even knot these bows around hair ties for a really simple ponytail bow that doesn’t have a metal clip.
Learn to sew 6 hair bows and scrunchies with printable patterns in my Bow pattern pack! Purchase here.
Hand Tied Fabric Bow Materials
- Quilting cotton fabric, use scraps or a Jelly Roll
- Hair claw alligator clip
- Hot glue gun
- Basic sewing supplies: sewing machine, thread, rotary cutter, mat and acrylic ruler
Bow Cutting Measurements
Since these bows start as rectangles, you can easily adjust the width and length of the strips as much as you want to make a wider bow or leave longer tails. For the two sizes shown, the cutting measurements are as follows:
- Small Bows – 2.25″ by 16″
- Wider Bows – 3″ by 16″
How to sew hand tied fabric bows – instructions
Use a one quarter inch seam allowance (1/4″).
Cut 1 strip of fabric for your desired bow size according to the measurements above.
Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise with right sides together and match raw edges. Press. Sew short end and pivot at corner. I like to leave my needle in the fabric, lift the presser foot and pivot my fabric to get a clean corner. Sew almost halfway to the center of the long edge. Backstitch. Repeat on the other side leaving a 2.5″ opening in the middle for turning the bow.
Clip the corners and trim the seam allowance down to 1/8″. Then turn the bow piece right side out and press.
Tying the bow is like tying your shoes! To tie the bow, fold over a loop and hold it with your right hand as shown.
Pull the long end around the back and over the front of the first loop.
Fold the length with your finger and push under the first loop but over the back piece. Pull the length through creating the second loop. Pull and adjust loops and tails until you like the result. You may have to practice a few times! If this method is too confusing, find something to tie the bow around, such as a chopstick, and then slide the bow off and add clip.
Stick the barrette clip in the back and then use the glue gun to shoot glue behind the clip. Add some glue to the front knot of the bow to keep it extra secure.
For piggie bows, glue the clips in opposite directions on the back to make it easier to clip them into pigtails.
More Accessories Tutorials
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