Make A Hair Bow Barrette

Anyone can look sharp in a nice handmade hair bow.

Hair bow barrettes are neither difficult nor expensive to make, which means you can easily make unique and matching barrette bows for a wedding, a gift for a favorite niece, or a handmade hair bow for yourself. Any kind of ribbon can be tied into an interesting and attractive bow and attached to a barrette.

Instructions

1. Select the appropriate sized barrette clip with tension spring. Open the barrette clip and remove the tension spring. Save the tension spring.

2. Heat a knife on the stove until it is almost red hot. Trim the end of your ribbon at a 45-degree angle with scissors. Touch the hot knife to the edge of the cut to seal the ribbon end and prevent fraying.

3. Hold the end of the ribbon against the end of the clip and stretch the ribbon to the length of the bow you want. Fold a loop back, pressing the ribbon to the clip, then make a second loop the same size.

4. Repeat this process another time, this time with the loops at a slight angle from the first loops, with one end slightly above the last loop and one end slightly below the first loop. Repeat the process again, this time tilting the loops in the opposite direction from the first offset.

5. Cut the ribbon away from the spool, leaving a tail at least 3 inches long.

6. Pinch the bow in the center carefully and remove the barrette clip. Place a dab of hot glue on the center-top of the barrette clip. Press the bow back onto the clip and hold it there until the glue sets.

7. Add another dab of hot glue to the center of the bow to fix the angles of the loops.

8. Wrap one loop of craft wire around the glued center and twist the ends together to secure the center of the bow-loops to the center of the clip. Tighten the wire with needle-nose pliers and press flat any tails on the wire.

9. Fold the topmost ribbon tail a quarter turn so the tail stretches perpendicular to the barrette clip. Wrap the tail around the center twice. Trim the tail so the end of the ribbon is on the backside of the bow. Heat the knife and seal the cut edge of the ribbon. Apply a dab of hot glue to hold the cut end to the back of the bow.

10. Replace the tension clip in the barrette clip. Your hair bow is finished.

Tags: barrette clip, tension spring, from first, handmade hair, Heat knife