What better way to complete a pretty hairstyle than adding a cute DIY felt bow. Clip it to the top of a hair bun or at the side of a loose flowing hairstyle. These DIY felt bows are really easy to make in a few minutes and this tutorial even includes a free printable pattern.
Contents
DIY Felt Bow
DIY Felt Bow - Supplies
- Felt squares. You could also use vinyl (faux leather) like the sparkly gold bow I made in the bottom picture. Felt squares are readily available at craft shops and fabric stores. Many discount stores also sell felt squares. If you are going to be making lots of bows, felt can also be purchased by the yard.
- Hot glue gun or a needle and thread. Using a glue gun will mean you can make these bows in just a few minutes. It normally takes longer for the glue gun to heat up than to make the bows. Small, low-temperature craft glue guns are ideal. If you don't have a glue gun handy then don't worry. It will take a little longer but you can use your needle and thread to make a nice bow also.
- Hairclip on which to attach your DIY felt bow. Alligator clips are the best as they are cheap and stay in the hair better than some other clips. It looks really professional if you add a lined alligator clip. (Read how to line an alligator clip)
- Your DIY felt bow pattern. Click on the link and print it out, making sure that it has printed to scale. DOWNLOAD PATTERN
DIY Felt Bow -The Video
Got a couple of minutes spare? Here is a video I made for you. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly sewing and craft videos.
DIY Felt Bow Instructions
Step 1 - Cutting
Start by cutting out all your pieces. You can pin your pattern pieces to the felt of use a removable pen to trace around them. Don't use a regular pen on your felt as you will see it on the edges of the bow when it is completed. Felt is best cut with sharp fabric scissors so you get nice clean edges. Try and be accurate with your cutting.
Step 2 - Folding
Take the large bow piece and fold both ends towards the center and overlap them by ¼ inch (6mm).
Glue or sew them down. I used my hot glue gun but you could easily use a straight stitch on a sewing machine or a running stitch.
TIP: Most felt doesn't have a right or wrong side but if yours does, then the right side should be on the outside. Don't be confused by the spots being on the inside in my photo. I wanted the plain blue to be on the outside of the large bow so the different layers would show up.
Repeat for the small bow. You can see that this time I put the spots on the outside.
Step 3 - Layering
Now layer all your pieces. The ribbon should be on the bottom, then the large bow and small bow. All should be right side up so all the joins are hidden.
Stitch through all layers or glue them together. If you are gluing, all you need is a thin strip of glue in the center of each layer. You don't need to glue all the way to the ends of the bows.
Step 4 - Add Center
Wrap the center piece across the top and around to the back of the bow. Glue or stitch it at the back, overlapping the ends tightly.
Depending on the thickness of your felt, you may need to trim it a little shorter.
Here is what it looks like from the back.
Step 5 - Add Clips
Now glue an alligator clip or comb to the back. These bows also look nice when attached to a headband.
All finished and ready to put in your hair!
Here you can see how the bow looks at the front of a bun. Wear it where ever you like.
More DIY Hair Accessories
If you liked this DIY felt bow tutorial, then I have more hair accessories that you can make with ribbon, felt and fabric.
Treasurie
Hi Kirsty, all my patterns will print on A4 or Letter size paper. As long as you set scale to 100% (sometimes labelled original size or scaling none), it will print to scale.
Kirsty
What size paper do I print on?
treasurie
I look forward to hearing how it turns out. You don't need anything fancy. An inexpensive acrylic felt makes a really nice bow. Thanks for commenting.
Fabric Heart
Very lovely. I will buy felt fabric in the fabric exchange and i will make one for my daughter.