How to Line an Alligator Clip - DIY Hair Clips

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Learning how to line an alligator clip for hair bows adds a touch of luxury and sparkle to your next DIY hair accessories project. Nothing says bespoke hair accessories like a nicely lined alligator clip.

Table of Contents

How to Line an Alligator Clip – DIY Hair Clips

What you need:

There are 2 types of alligator clips – double-prong and single-prong. Either will work for this tutorial. I have used double prong that I purchased online from Aliexpress. You can get bags cheaply from Amazon and eBay.
Hot glue gun – cool glue generally doesn’t stick it as well.
Cut 6 inches (15cm) of 3/8 inch (1cm) ribbon. This is a little longer than you will need for most clips but it gives you a small margin of error at the end.

Line Alligator Clips: The Video

Watch how to line alligator clips in this short video I made for you. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly sewing and craft videos.

How to Line Alligator Clips VIDEO

How to Line Alligator Clips: Instructions

If your ribbon frays a lot you can seal the ends either by melting them with a lighter or applying an anti-fraying solution like Fray Stop.

(Read how to stop ribbon from fraying)

Start by applying some glue to the end 2 inches (5cm) of the underside of the ribbon.

Open up the clip and put the end of the ribbon wrong side up at the back hinge. Smooth the ribbon on the top of the inside.

Wrap it around and bring the ribbon to the top.

Put glue along the top of the prong. Smooth the ribbon on top.

Put a dab of glue at the back on the hinges. Smooth the ribbon in and out of the hinge.

See how I have followed the contours of the end. Here is a close-up photo.

Check the length of the remaining ribbon. You want it to finish about ½ inch (12mm) past the hinge. Trim if necessary.

Finally, put a bit of glue underneath the remaining ribbon and smooth it along the prong.

Now you could put ribbon all the way along the underneath prong but I find that leaving the bottom exposed allows the clip to grab the hair much better. Clips that are completely covered in ribbon tend to slide out. You can experiment with what works best for your hair.

Here are some finished clips in all different ribbons.