Sweet Ribbon Hair Bow

Do you ever look at boutique shop bows and say to yourself, "I can make that!"?  Well, I did.  I was looking at some of the boutique bows and they were just so over the top and I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to make my own in the colors I wanted for my sweet little daughter.  They're so easy to make, too (if you have the patience for it).

Anyway, I was helping my friend make some hair bows for her 3 daughters who were going back to school.  She likes simple bows that aren't overly huge or over the top with flair.  I showed her how easy they were to make as I made 2 different hair bows for each of her 3 daughters.  I figured it would be a good tutorial to post for those who want to make their own bows customized to the style/colors/size that they want.

Let's get started by talking ribbon... If this is your first time making a hair bow, I highly recommend starting with grosgrain as it is the easiest the work with and holds the bow shape really well.  Satin (which is what I'm using in this example since it's what I had lying around at the time) is very pretty, but keep in mind that it is a bit flimsier than grosgrain, so it isn't going to hold a stiff bow quite as nice.  For everyday use, I recommend grosgrain; For special occasions, satin works well.  Also, usually I opt for 5/8" or 1" ribbon, but depending on the age of your daughter and the size of the clip you are covering, you may decide to opt for something bigger.

Ok, so let's get started with my favorite bow.  This is my "go-to" bow when I'm making hair clips since it's very versatile and can be for dress down or for dress up.

Leave your ribbon on the spool to begin so you can play around with what size you are wanting.  Take the end of your ribbon, size it to the total width you will want the entire bow to have and fold it back.

The length from the start of the ribbon to where your fold is will be the horizontal width of your ribbon when complete.

Now, fold your ribbon over again at the point where it is almost even with the start of the ribbon (allow for a little extra room on your end since you will likely need to fray check it and cut it).

Now, fold again (even with your first "top" fold) and come back.

Alright, now one last fold (again, even with your last "bottom" fold) and back up.

Now, cut your ribbon (again, allow for a little room to be able to fray check and cut the end).  This will be your bow.  To recap, you should have 4 folds and one of the ends should be at the "bottom" and the other end should be at the "top").

Now we just have to make it look all pretty.  Start by trying to better organize the ribbon in your hand like so:

Now for the tricky part... pinch your ribbon in the middle and "fluff" out the bow so that there are 4 distinct loops (should look like butterfly wings).  This may take a bit since it's hard to hold the center and work with the ribbon at the same time, but keep at it until you have it looking the way you want.

Now, that we have the bow the way we want, we need to secure it in the middle.  This is much easier if you have a third hand (ie: someone to help tie off the middle for you)... but if nobody is around to volunteer, then my favorite way of securing the middle is by taking a length of thread and wrapping it around and around until it's tight then tying off the 2 ends of the thread to keep it secured.

Voila!  Alrighty, now let's cut the ends and fray check them.  You can cut the ends straight, on an angle, or you can do a "V" shape... whichever you feel suits the style of your bow.  In this case, I chose a "V"...

Now, for some extra flair, I decided to add a little bit of white to the mix.  I followed the exact same steps above only with my little 1/8" white ribbon (I liked the look of it next to my 5/8" yellow ribbon).  I then attached it to my yellow ribbon by tying them together with thread.

 

Now to make a center.  You can make this in any color you like, just use a smaller size ribbon (in this case 1/4").  Tie a simple knot in the ribbon like so:

Now, I take a dab of fabric glue, place it on the knot and put the knot in the center of the "good" side of my bow.

Allow the glue to dry before working with it further.  Once dry, flip your bow over and wrap the center ribbon around the back and glue in the center back.  Cut off the excess as you are doing this.

Once the glue has dried on the back, you can now connect the bow to you clip.  I prefer to use alligator clips that I like myself (with 3/8" ribbon).  I will show you how to line an alligator clip in a later tutorial... it's super easy, I promise!  Place a dab of glue on the back center of your ribbon and connect your ribbon in the top groove of your alligator clip.  I usually use another alligator clip to secure it while it is drying.

Once it's dry, it is ready to wear!  You may need to "fluff" it on occasion by placing your fingers in the loops to make them poof out, but it should last you until it's lost or destroyed by the little monsters for whom they are made. :-)

The Notions Fascination Playmat: Final Details

So, we’ve officially done all of the major things that needed to be sewed by creating the VELCRO POCKET, BUTTON POCKET, SHOETIE LACES, and ZIPPER POCKET, but I have to say that I felt I wasn’t ready to just stop there.  I wanted to make this extra special and fun so that it would be something that my daughter wants to play with.  

Lately, my daughter has had a fascination with the plastic connector in her car seat.  No, I don’t want to teach her how to get out of her car seat just yet, but I know she loves to play with the connector, so I figure that the plastic side-squeeze clips were close enough, but not quite the same as the one used on her car seat.  You can find these at most craft stores, but I just pulled out one of my dog’s frayed old collars and cut the clip away from it (making sure to wash the clip very well with dish soap).  I then connected the clip and threaded through some grosgrain ribbon on each side, topstitching it in place.  Next, figure out how far apart you want your ribbons to be when you attach them to the inner placemat (allow enough room for some play with the clips).  We will be attaching these to the placemat by creating two button holes big enough to fit the ribbon in on each side.  Allow for about an inch of ribbon to be inserted into the button holes on each side.  Now, I just size my button foot to the width of my ribbon, marked on the placemat the location of where they should go, and created two button holes.  Cut the button holes open and Fray Check the edges.  Insert the ends of your ribbon into the button holes and topstitch it down by stitching along the button hole thread.  Do the same for both sides.

I also decided to add a snap closure to the upper left corner of my playmat.  I had an old preemie-sized bib from when my daughter was born (way before she really needed a bib).

I had no intention of using it again, and it had a snap closure on the back, so I cut the two back bib flaps off and sewed them onto the playmat (SUPER easy).

I wanted to make the pockets I had created a bit more interesting for my daughter if she happens to get one open.  I figure that since I have 3 pockets, I would leave one alone and create a bit more interest for the other two.  I decided to work with the Zipper pocket and the Velcro pocket for this.  For the zipper pocket, I found an old appliqué from one of her old outfits (a little stuffed butterfly about as big as a quarter).  I cut the little butterfly off and attached it to some matching ribbon.  I then laced the ribbon through the zipper pocket and folded the end under the edge of the inner placemat (so that it will be sewed down once I attach the outer placemat by topstitching around the entire thing).  I did something similar on my Velcro pocket, only I actually created a little flower from fabric.  

To do so, simply cut out large circles of fabric, then cut those circles in half.  Each half will become one petal, so make however many you want.  Then, just take your half circle, fold it in half with right sides together, and sew along the straight edge.

Turn the petal back right-sides-out and repeat with next petal.  When you have all your petals, hand run a gathering stitch through them around the un-sewn edge, pull tight, and tie off.

Then, just use a fabric button to cover the middle (either sew or glue the button on) on both sides so that when your child pulls the flower out of the pocket, there is no bad side.

You can jazz your up however you would like... again, this is just a tutorial, so please, make it yours!

Once you have everything done that you want on your playmat, finalize the entire thing by sewing a button on the outer placemat to ultimately hold it closed.  Then, on the other end of your outer placemat from where you sewed your button, pin some elastic (I used a hair tie) in between your inner placemat to the outer placemat at the edge.  Now just top stitch around the entire placemat.  It should all stay in place and you should be able to close your playmat by folding it in half and wrapping the elastic around the button.

If you have any questions or need clarification, feel free to send me an e-mail!  I would love to hear from you if you are attempting a playmat of your own.

The Notions Fascination Playmat: Zipper Pocket

Sorry for the delay on posting this next step… it’s been a busy few days.  Anyway, I’m here now and ready to post how to make the ZIPPER POCKET!

This was actually rather easy, even though I saved it for last with this sense of dread for dealing with a zipper.  I wanted to use a big and easy zipper, so I went out and bought a short plastic sport zipper… something that will be easy for my daughter to grab and pull on and that would open with no problem.

As far as your fabric goes, you will need 3 triangles of fabric.  Cut them the way that they will ultimately lie (cut the outer pocket and the inner pocket with wrong sides together and cut the back of the inner pocket so that the right side will show when the pocket is unzipped).  Basically, if you lay out all your triangles with right side facing up, there should be one triangle that is opposite from the other two.

Ok, so now, take the triangles that will be your pocket (the one that is the outside of the pocket and the one that is the lining) and place them right sides together.  Stitch around the triangle, but leave a small area unstitched in the corner for turning.  Turn the pocket right sides out, fold the unstitched corner under, and iron flat.

Now the tricky part - hold your zipper up to your newly created pocket flap.  Mark a small dot where the actual zipper starts and a dot where the metal ending is for the zipper.  

Using scissors, carefully cut a straight line through your triangle, connecting the dots (you should cut through both pieces of fabric so we can hide the zipper between the two).  

Now, along the dots you drew for the zipper, cut into the fabric on a 90 degree angle about ¼ of an inch on each side to allow a flap for us to fold under.  Use your iron to help you in making sure your newly created flaps are all folded under.  Now, grab some Fray Check and dab some along the rough edges at the top and bottom of your opening to make sure the fabric stays in tact.

Carefully place your zipper into the opening you created for it, making sure that it is in between your two pieces of fabric.  Pin it in place.  

Now, pull out your zipper foot for your sewing machine.  Carefully sew your zipper into place along all sides.  Everything should be tucked into the area in between the two pieces of fabric, so it should be an adorable little two sided triangle.

Alright, so that was your actual pocket, but we obviously want there to be a lining for inside the pocket when it’s opened.  Take that third piece of fabric you cut, fold over the edges to align it with your zippered pocket piece, and pin the entire thing where it will ultimately be going on the inner placemat.

Hooray!  That was the last major thing that you needed to create.  Now, it’s just about the little details.  We’ll go over those extra little things that you can do to really make this special in my next post and then finish we’ll off the entire project!  Stay tuned!