Adding a cute little hair accessory can really complete an outfit and the bow barrette is one of my favorites! You can make them in any size using whatever scraps of fabric you have. I recently made a matching dress and top for Grandma and Madeline from this beautiful printed knit fabric from Joann and was left with odd little pieces of scraps. I can cut out the bow pieces in any direction of the grain of the fabric and it doesn’t effect the shape of the bow at all so I was glad to be able to use up whatever little bit of fabric scraps left from cutting out the garments.
Originally, I had planned on using the big bow as an embellishment on Madeline’s dress but I love big, statement making accessories so on the head it goes! I use alligator barrettes for Madeline since they’re the only hair accessory that she will tolerate in her hair so I always get the 10 piece packs from Walmart for about $2. I also use a little bit of felt to attach the barrette and whatever design I am using on top. The shape of the felt really depends on the design – for flowers, I’ll cut out a round shaped felt and for something like a bow, it’ll be a rectangle. I will add a tutorial on how to make a barrette using artificial plastic flowers but for now let’s make this pretty little bow for her hair!
Things You Will Need:
Fabric of choice (I used printed knit fabric)
Felt
Hot Glue
Alligator barrette
*WARNING! Be sure to let the hot glue on the barrette cool down completely before putting it on the child’s head.
1. Cut out 2 rectangles sized 2.5″x2″ and 8.5″x5.5″.
2. Fold them in half and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
3. Turn them right side out. You can use a safety pin to help with this step.
4. Take the big piece and bring the ends to the center, butting the raw edges.
5. Use the widest zig zag stitch to join and sew down the butted ends. Don’t worry if it’s not pretty because it will be covered up. 🙂
6. Pinch it in the middle. It’s starting to look like a bow!
7. Take a needle and some thread and sew through the pinched center of the bow a couple of times. I always leave a little tail of thread so I can bring my needle back, clip the thread and tie the tails in a knot.
8. Place one end of the small rectangle on the back of the bow and sew it down leaving a tail of thread.
9. Wrap the other end around the front of the bow and then bring it to the back. Sew it down and bring the needle back to the tail to tie it off in a knot.
10. Cut out the felt. Make sure to keep it skinny enough so that it won’t be sticking out from under the bow.
11. Fold the felt in half and make 2 little nips for the barrette to slid through.
12. Put a thin layer of hot glue all over the felt and pressed it on the center of the bow.
Voila! The bow barrette is all done and ready to make a fashion statement. If you’re like me and get so excited to try things on after completing them, this hair accessory though takes a little bit of patience as the last step involves using hot glue and we definitely don’t want our precious little one’s noggin to get any boo boos. So don’t forget to let the barrette cool down completely. 🙂
