Friday, August 27, 2010

How to: Hair Bows from Little Lizard King


Okay, I had great intentions with and August Archive Appreciation Month...and now it's almost the end of August and I'm just getting the first post up!  We were without internet for longer than I thought we'd be and we've been enjoying our new town so much and getting to now people and getting Hubby ready for school that I haven't been doing much blogging...but now I'm going to get all those posts up that my wonderful friends have sent me.  Little Lizard King was the very first to send me something from her archives.  She sent the whole tutorial (but all you need to do if you want me to highlight your idea is include an intro and the link.)  If you have checked out Little Lizard King, you really should.  She's got some amazing stuff.  One of these days I'm going to order her pinafore pattern.

So here she is...

Hi, I'm the Little Lizard King, and I'm into sewing patterns and DIY crafty things.
For those of you who like to sew, check out my shop that's stocked with tutorials and instructions to teach you to make boutique products without boutique prices. 
Here is a sampling of the items you could make using Little Lizard King patterns. 
  
Now, onto the tutorial. 
Here's a quick how-to-hair bow.
Supplies needed:
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • Ribbon
  • Alligator Clips
  • Hot Glue and Glue Gun
  • At least 1 cute little girl
Thread a needle.
 Take some ribbon.
Create one loop with the ribbon.
Make a second, equally sized loop. My two loops are about 5" across. There is not a right or wrong size regarding the length of your hair bow. Pinch the ribbon in the center. Do not let go.
Repeat. You should now have two layers of ribbon per loop.
For a different effect, create three loops.
Push the needle through the center point of the ribbon.
 With the needle poking through the ribbon, spread out the loops of ribbon to create an X.
 Push the needle entirely through the ribbon. Do not let go of the ribbon.
 Pull the needle through the other side.
Repeat. Push the needle back through one side of the ribbon.
 Pull the needle out the other side. 
This is an optional step. Loop the thread around your ribbon two times.
 Pull the thread tightly to pinch the ribbon in the center. If you do not want a pinched center, do not complete this step. I typically do not complete this step if I am creating layered hair bows. Wrap the thread around the pinched center two or three times.
Regardless of whether you pinched the center of the ribbon or not, push your needle through one side of the ribbon, and pull it back through the other side.
 Do this two times.
 Cut your thread. If you stop here, it looks nice to glue a small 2-3" long piece of 1/4" wide ribbon around the pinched center. 
 If you want to layer your hair bow, repeat the aforementioned steps.
 Arrange one bow on top of the other according to your preference.
 Glue the two bows together with a hot glue gun. 
 Repeat with other types, sizes, and colors of ribbon.
 Add embellishment, if you desire.
 Use a lighter to heat seal the ends of each raw edge of the ribbon. This prevents the ribbon from fraying.
 I'm not loving this green bow. It looks odd. I was in a hurry.
 Cut a piece of ribbon approximately 7-8" long.
  
Add a strip of hot glue down the center of the entire ribbon.
Beauty supply stores sell 100 alligator clips for around $5. You can also buy them on Ebay and probably Etsy. It is shocking how fast you fly through 100 alligator clips. It's insane. Buy more than one pack. 
Place an alligator clip on your ribbon. 
Wrap the alligator clip with the ribbon.
Glue your hair bow on top of the alligator clip.
 Wahlah!
Now, be creative. Combine colors, sizes, and prints of varying ribbon for cute, coordinating, and creative hair bows. 
Before you know it, you'll be swimming in hair bows.
My former color guard cousin loaded us up on ribbon over Christmas, and I'm finally putting it to good use.  Thanks, KK.
Enjoy,
Little Lizard King

2 comments:

  1. I like the samples of her cute patterns!

    ReplyDelete
  2. you are so patient to take a photo in each step :) i will try it . tnx

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you. I also love responding, so please make sure your Blogger account is set up for me to be able to see your email address or include your email address. I've had to stop accepting anonymous comments due to spam. If you don't have any other way to comment, you can always send an email.