Boutique Hair Bows

My sister-in-law taught me how to make these bows a few months ago and I absolutely love them...and so do my girls! It is not unusual for my almost two year old, Cameron, to pull a bow out of her drawer and bring it to me me so I can put her hair up "pretty". Or sometimes she'll me to give Sydney a bow "Nee bow". Cameron has also been really into Mickey Mouse (and crew) lately, so when I saw this Minnie Mouse ribbon at Hobby Lobby it only took a second for me to toss it into the cart. Bonus, it was 50% off.

These are the things you'll need:

Ribbon of your choice

Clips

String

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Lighter

NOTE: Ribbon with wire doesn't work quite as well as ribbon without.

Start with your thickest ribbon, the ribbon you want to be the base of your bow. Take one end of the ribbon and make a loop.

Take the other end of the ribbon and create another loop, opposite your first loop, by wrapping the long end back behind your first loop.

Now create a third loop by bringing the ribbon back across the front of the bow. This loop will be on the same side of the first loop.

Create a fourth and final loop by taking the long end of the ribbon and wrapping it behind the back of the bow.

Gather the ribbon together in the middle. I like to create a W shape to help give the bow the fullest possible appearance. Once you have the center of the bow gathered together, clip it using one of your clips. This might take a few tries before you get it how you like it.

Cut the long end of the ribbon leaving enough to create a tail.

 Take a piece of string and tie it around the center of the bow. I  usually wrap the string around several times. The string will not be visible at the end, so don't worry about how it looks. Leave the long ends of the string, no need to cut them yet. Remove the clip and the first part of the bow is complete.

Take your next ribbon and repeat the first steps to create a second bow. This one should be slightly smaller than the first so it can sit on top of the first one.

Once you have the two bows take the long ends of the string on the big bow and use them to tie the two bows together. Cut off all excess string.

Now we will create the center of the bow. Cut about a three to four inch piece of the ribbon you want to use for the center. Create a loop with the ribbon. It should look like a breast cancer loop.

Take the end of the ribbon that is in the back and string it though the hole and pull tight to create a knot.

Now put some hot glue on the back of the knot and glue to the center of the bow so you cover the string.

Flip the bow over and thread the bottom of the clip (the flat side) between the string and the ribbon.

Take one end of your knot ribbon and wrap around to the back of the bow and slide it in between the sides of the clip. Squeeze a small drop of hot glue under the ribbon and affix it to the clip. Cut off the excess ribbon.

Take the other end of the ribbon and slide it between the clip and hot glue it to the other side of the ribbon. Cut off the excess ribbon.

Cut the for ends of the bows to the length you like them.

Run the flame from your lighter across the ends of the ribbon to prevent them from fraying. NOTE: Be very careful with this step. You only need the flame for a second. If you leave it there for too long you can catch your bow on fire. I've totally done this before! 

You're done!

 The fun part about these bows is you can make a ton of different variations using different ribbons and changing the amount of layers you do, etc. I like to get together with friends and share ribbon too so I don't end up with a million bows using the same ribbon.

Don't get frustrated if your first couple bows don't turn out exactly how you'd like them to. You'll get better and better as you practice more. 

Happy bow making!