How to Make Hair Bows
It may seem complicated, but it’s not difficult to learn how to make hair bows for young girls all by yourself. Making your own hair bows is a matter of knowing what materials to use and how to use them.
Instructions for Making Hair Bows
The most basic hair bows are made of grosgrain — a “ribbed” ribbon material that is attractive and easy to work with. You can use almost any material to make a hair bow, but working with grosgrain for your first bow will make your job even easier. In the next few passages we’ll give you instructions for making hair bows.
These are materials you’ll need for making hair bows:
- Very sharp scissors
- Thin and lightweight floral wire
- Hot or cool glue gun
- Hot or cool glue sticks
- 30 inches of 7 / 8 inch high-quality grosgrain ribbon (or whatever ribbon you want to use)
- Approximately 3 inches of 1 / 2 inch ribbon of the same type and color
- A single or double pronged alligator clip
- A bottle of Fray-check (a liquid sealant to prevent fraying that can be found at any craft store)
How to Make Hair Bows
1. Plug in your hot glue gun — it needs to warm up.
2. Cut about 4 inches of the floral wire.
3. Cut your ribbon to approximately 30 inches. Remember that the length of the ribbon will determine
the size of your bow. For a neat appearance, make a diagonal cut at each ribbon end.
4. Use Fray check on each end. This will ensure the ribbon won’t fray. The ends of the ribbon will dry quickly
5. Hold your ribbon vertically about five inches down the length of it. With your thumb on the front and pointer finger on the back, loop the ribbon by pulling the remaining 25 inches over to the top of where your thumb is. This should leave a tail of ribbon two inches long at the end.
6. Now fold the remaining ribbon up and under the starting point, leaving enough length to make the size of the loops match.
7. Now it is time to make the third loop. Pull the remaining ribbon up and over the center to form the third loop. Continue to hold the center
tightly while you are working. The tighter you hold your ribbon in place at the center, the better your bow will look.
8. While continuing to hold your bow firmly in the center, carefully put a small amount of glue between each place where the ribbon meets, for a total of four glue points.
9. Now you’ll attach your bow to a clip so that it can be worn in hair. The simplest way to make sure your alligator
clips stays on is to clip it open, and carefully insert the bottom of the clip under the ribbon on the back.
10. Close the clip where the bottom is beneath the ribbon. Now carefully put a small amount of glue on the bottom of the end of the alligator clip
Making a bow on your own is hard, and your first attempt may not look quite right. After a few tries, you will have mastered the skill, and probably have your own secrets to making bows the way you like them.