Bow Tutorial

I'm sorry it has been quite a while since I've posted! I have been working on lots of other projects and of course looking after my two little girls who are now nearly 4 and 2 years old! Time has flown by but I'm still doing lots of making, although not so much clothing. Instead I've been working on some small accessories and children's toys but I hope to continue sewing clothing some time in the future.

Today I want to share a hair bow tutorial with you which is easy, quick and would make lovely little presents for family or friends. Anyone can do it so why not give it a try? It's a great way to use up the scraps of fabric you have and it would even make a great activity to do with your children (perhaps aged 6+) during the summer holidays or indeed at anytime!

You will need:

Hot glue gun
Fabric scraps (at least 14cm x 9.5cm)
Ribbon (10cm but you'll only be using about 4cm)
Thread and needle
Sewing machine (optional)
Crocodile clips



Measure and cut a piece of fabric measuring 14cm x 9.5cm. The seam allowance is 1cm and you won't be sewing on the folded edge so your finished bow will roughly measure 6cm x 7.5cm.

Fold the right sides together and pin the fabric in place. Starting from one corner sew around to the other leaving 3cm before the end. Make sure you secure the beginning and end of your sewn line by sewing forward then backwards, then forwards again to reinforce the sewn line.

Clip your corners like so. This is so you don't get bulky corners when you turn the fabric the right side out. You can also trim a little of your seam allowance, maybe up to 5mm.

 Turn the bow right side out and clip any stray threads

To make the bow all you need to do is pinch the middle, and then the sides together. This might be a good point to turn your hot glue gun on so it's ready for use in the next couple of minutes.

Sew a stitch through the middle to hold the bow in place.

Your bow should look something like this.

Ok this is the fiddly part but don't worry, all you need to do is make sure you have everything you need to hand as you'll need to work fast before the hot glue dries. 

Put your glue gun on some newspaper and your crocodile clip close by.

- Place your ribbon on the newspaper and put your bow roughly 2cm below the top.
- Put some glue on the top half and quickly but gently fold it over the middle part of your bow.

Quickly put some glue on the part you have just folded over and on the lower part of the ribbon, maybe until you reach about 2cm from the bow.

Place your crocodile clip down and with one hand hold the side of your bow and the crocodile clip open, while with the other you carefully hold the lower part of the ribbon and bring it in-between the crocodile clip teeth.

 

Close the crocodile clip and gently press the part of the ribbon which you put the glue on. make any quick adjustments to the ends of the bow before the glue dries and then snip off the excess ribbon.

Now all you need to do is hand sew up the small gap and voila! You have your bow! 

I have made some for the girls which they love and I couldn't resist making one for myself too from this lovely african print fabric.

Note: If you're wondering where to buy a glue gun from I bought mine from amazon here for only £5.99 with 50 free glue sticks. The clips I used I bought from an ebay shop here.

Happy making!