Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi, welcome to the course. My name is Greta Lan I'm a jewelry and accessory designer. In this beginners' hair accessory making course, you will learn how to create simple boutique style ribbon hair bows. This process requires only a few basic and affordable supplies. It's very easy for beginners to get started. I will teach you step-by-step from the basic ribbon folding to the final stacked ribbon bow designs. You'll learn to use basic hand sewing techniques to make your ribbon bows look neater and professional. I'll demonstrate how to attach hair clips and how to wrap a headband to turn your ribbon bows into beautiful hair accessories. Together, we will make these simple hair bows, hair bows with tails, double stacked and triple stacked hair bows. I'll also show you the
optional steps you can follow to improve the quality of your work. At the end of the course, you will be confident enough to make all of these ribbon hair bow styles. Now, let's create something beautiful together. I'm looking forward to seeing you in my course.
2. Materials & Tools: I'll introduce the materials and tools you need for this course. Hair clips and headbands I'll be using two types of hair clips. This is a French barrette hair clip. It's secured with a clasp. To open the clip, Just to press the two metal pieces of the clasp. The hair clip you are going to choose should be shorter than the bow you plan to make. So the clip will be covered by your bow. This is an alligator clip. It has teeth on the edge to give a good grip in the hair. All of these barrettes and alligator hair clips are about 7 mm wide and 55 mm long. The metal headbands I'm going to use are about 5 mm wide. You can use wider headbands instead. A lighter. We need to get a lighter to go with our ribbons, We'll use it to heat seal the ribbon ends. Ribbons. There are so many different types of ribbons you can buy from the craft stores. Ribbons are made from a variety of fabrics and they come in different colors and sizes. In this course, we need to use synthetic ribbon. So when we heat seal the ribbon ends, the ends can melt to stop ribbon from fraying. Well ribbons made from natural fibers, like silk or cotton, will burn instead of melting. For my demonstration, I'm going to use synthetic satin ribbon. They are all double faced, which means they are shiny on both sides. I'll be using 38 mm wide and 25 mm wide ribbon to make the bows and use 9 mm wide ribbon for the center of each bow. I also need 6 mm wide ribbon. It will cover each end of the 5 mm headband. Needle and thread. We need a hand sewing needle and thread. The thread will be covered by our ribbon, so you can use any colors you like. Scissors and tape measure. I have these two pairs of scissors. These are fabric scissors. I'll use them to cut ribbons. These are thread snips. I'll use them to cut thread. We also need a tape measure to measure the length of ribbon. Next is glue gun. It's one of the most essential tools for crafters. I'll be using this mini sized low temp glue gun and the matching glue sticks. The operating temperature can reach up to 200 degrees low temp glue guns work well with dedicated materials, such as fabric, ribbon and lace. No matter which brand of glue gun you will purchase. Please read the instruction manual and safety guidelines on its package or websites before use. The features may vary among different brands. I'll quickly show you how to use this glue gun. I have inserted a glue stick, then plug in the glue gun, and wait several minutes as the instruction suggested for the glue to heat up, the tip will be very hot. Please always take caution while using your glue gun. I want to glue the ribbon end to this clip, like that. Put a dab of melted glue either on the clip or on the ribbon end. Let's go with the clip. Gently press the trigger. You just need a small amount of glue. Just do small circles to end off the glue string. Then put the ribbon on the glue and press it down to flatten the glue and make it set. Hot glue dries very quickly, so you need to do this fast. Once you finish your entire project, you need to leave it aside for another 24 hours for the glue to completely set. That's all for this lesson. You can check the supplies list in the downloadable PDF file.
3. Getting Ready: First, let's get the needle and thread ready. I'll go with a comfortable length of thread, about 60 to 70 cm long. Thread the needle, double the thread. So both ends become even. Next, we need to tie a knot at the end of the thread. What I'll do is to hold both ends together with my index finger and thumb. Then place the eye of the needle between my fingers. Grab the thread that is close to the tail end. The wrap around the needle a couple of times. I'll do three times. Pull the thread down, grab the thread wraps, then pull the needle through. So we have a knot at the end. I will just put the needle and thread aside. Next, let's cut the ribbon to the special length we need to make our first bow. From my experience, we just do a simple math like this. The desired length of the bow times 2, then add any number between 2 to 3. It's approximately equal to the length of ribbon you need. Here the popular size range of ribbon hair bows is between 5 to 10 cm. Here I cannot give you the exact number. It can be 2 or 3 or 2.5. It depends on how stiff the fabric of your ribbon is, the styles of hair clips you are going to attach. Also, the finished bow is curved. You can see that curve if I hold it this way. So it's hard to give the exact measurement of the bow. After making a couple of simple bows, you'll get a general idea to decide on the length of ribbon you need for your design. I want my bow to be around 7.5 cm long. So 7.5 times 2 is 15. Then add a number between 2 to 3. I'll go with 3. I don't mind if the bow will be slightly longer. So the length of ribbon I need is about 18 cm. First, trim off the fray from the edge of the ribbon. Cut straight across the ribbon. Use the lighter to quickly run across the edge to stop the ribbon from fraying. Then use the tape measure to measure 18 cm of the ribbon, and cut it. Then heat seal this end as well. Now we are ready to use this piece of ribbon to make a simple bow that is around 7.5 cm long.
4. Two Ways to Fold A Simple Bow: In this lesson, I'm going to show you two ways to fold a simple bow. I'll use 38 mm wide ribbon to show you the first way and 25 mm wide ribbon to show you the second way. I have cut both of them to 18 cm long and heat sealed the ribbon ends. So let's start to make our first bow with the 38 mm wide ribbon piece. First fold this ribbon in half, then crease the fold. We need to get a neat crease line in the center of the ribbon. We can heat it up a little bit with the lighter to help us crease fold. Then unfold the ribbon. Now we have this crease line in the center. Next, bring up the bottom edge of the ribbon, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. The fold down the top edge in the same way, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. I need to check on the side to see the crease and use that as a guide. Make sure they are lined up on the other side as well. I'll flip it over. This side is the front side of the bow. First, we are going to fold the middle up, then we'll work on one side at a time. Bring this side up and down. Then do the same on the other side. Bring the side up and down. So we're making an accordion shape. So this is the first way to fold a simple bow. Keep holding the folds in place. Then take the needle and thread, go into the center of the bow, push the needle through the folds. There's one thing I want to mention here. If the ribbon you are using is made of thick fabric, then you wouldn't be able to push the needle through like this. So later in the bonus lesson, I will show you an alternative way to make ribbon bows. Now, let's continue learning this method. It's easier and time-saving. Then pull the thread and wrap the thread around the center three to four times. Next, we'll tie off the thread on the back of the bow. I'll do a small running stitch first. Just put my needle in under the threads. Pull it tight. Then do another stitch. This time, I'm not pulling it all the way through. I'm just pulling it till I have a loop. Put the needle through the loop to form a knot. Pull it tight. Trim off the excess thread, leave a short tail. So there we have made a simple bow. Let's call this style as Style A. Later we'll add the center of the bow and attach a hair clip. Next, I will show you the second way to fold a simple bow. I'll use the 25 mm wide ribbon. I have made a crease in the center. Then bring up the bottom edge of the ribbon, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. Fold down the top edge in the same way, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. Flip it over, make sure they are lined up on both sides. This time, we are not going to fold the middle up. Instead, we are going to fold the middle down. Then just fold the two edges down. Work on one side at a time. Bring this side down and bring the other side down. It's still like an accordion shape, but it has less folds. So this is the second way to fold a simple bow. If you work with a ribbon that is not wide enough or the fabric of your ribbon is too thick to make more folds like Style A, then you can fold it like this. Make less folds. Next, just repeat the same process. Take the needle and thread, go into the center of the bow, go through all the folds. Pull the thread and wrap around the center three to four times. Then tie off the thread on the back of this bow. Do one running stitch first, put my needle in under the threads, pull it tight. Then do another stitch. I'm pulling it till I have a loop. Put the needle through the loop to form a knot. Then pull it tight and trim off the excess thread, leave a short tail. So there we have made the second bow. Let's call this style as Style B Together., we have made two simple bows. Make several bows like these with different colored ribbon. Later we are going to create other ribbon bow styles using them.
5. Attach Hair Clips to Your Ribbon Bows: In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to attach hair clips to the ribbon bows. I'll be using 9 mm wide ribbon for the center of the bows. You can choose the same colored ribbon or a similar color, a contrasting color, or any color that goes well with your bows. I'll use one French barrette and one alligator clip. I plan to attach the barrette to the Style A ribbon bow. We are going to glue them together like this. You'll notice that the clip does not touch every part of the bow. It's definitely touches the center part. So on the backside of the bow, We are going to put some glue to the center. Before attaching the barrette, we need to remove this arched piece. Now on the backside of the bow, apply a bit of glue to the center section. Then place it to the center of the barrette. Push it down for few seconds. Hot glue attached to metal may peel off later. So we need to reinforce the work with another piece of ribbon. Get the 9 mm wide ribbon. I have heat sealed the end. Put some hot glue to this end. Place it to the back of this metal piece where the center of the bow is. Hold it down for few seconds. Then get the ribbon and wrap it around the center of the bow. Bring it to the back side again, overlap the other end of the ribbon. See the edge of the barrette, we need to cut the ribbon there. Then seal the end. I'll cut the thread tail short. It's a bit too long to get covered. Put some hot glue to this end. Wrap it around again, overlap the other end of the ribbon, hold it down for few seconds. Then we can put back the arched piece. This is an easy and quick way to attach a French barrette to your ribbon bow. Next, I'll show you two optional steps you can follow to improve the quality of your hair bow. First step is to line the barrette with ribbon before attach it to your bow. You need to choose a ribbon that is slightly wider than the barrette. The color of the ribbon should go well with your bow. And the ribbon will be glued to cover the barrette, like this. Later, the bow will be glued to this ribbon instead of the metal piece, so it will be more secure. We usually use grosgrain ribbon to line hair clips. Grosgrain ribbon is more durable with ripped texture. If you don't have it on hand, just go with the ribbon you'll use for the center of the bow. So I'll go with the same 9 mm wide ribbon. I have heat sealed the ribbon end. Put a dab of glue, place it here on the back. The glue will pass through the hole to the other side, then fold it over and press it onto the glue. Then apply hot glue all the way to the other end. Place the ribbon on top of the barrette and smooth it over. Then flip it over. We need to leave a short tail of the ribbon to fold it over. I'll cut it here. Seal the end. Then put a dot of glue where the hole is. Fold it over and hold it onto the glue. So we've lined this barrette with ribbon. Later, you just need to repeat the exact same process. Glue the bow to the barrette, and use the 9 mm wide ribbon to wrap around the center of the bow. Glue the two ends of the ribbon to the backside of the metal piece. I will skip this process. I have attached the barrette to the bow. The second optional step is to glue each end of the barrette to the bow. As I showed before, the bow is curved. We have glued to the center of the bow to the barrette, so the bow is set in place now. It looks like the two ends of the barrette touch the bow. So you can add some glue to those areas to make the work more secure. I'll hold this side of the bow and put hot glue on this end of the barrette. Then place the bow back on the barrette. Press it onto the glue. Tap the edge of the bow to adjust its shape. Then just do the same thing on the other side. Put hot glue on the other end of the barrette. Press the bow onto the glue, adjust its shape. Leave it aside for 24 hours for the glue to completely set. Then you'll have a nice ready-to-wear ribbon hair bow. Next, let's attach the alligator hair clip to the Style B ribbon bow. If you want to follow the optional step to line the clip first, what you can do is to glue the ribbon end to the back of the clip like this. Then glue the ribbon to this edge and the top of the clip. Then attach this clip to the bow. And lastly fold the ribbon over and glue this ribbon to the inside like that. With the ribbon lined on the surface and inside. The alligator clip will be really slippery when you wear it in your hair. Because the ribbon covers part of the teeth, it weakens the hold of the clip. So many crafters choose not to line their alligator clips. Let's attach this clip to our bow without lining it. The bow will be placed on the clip like this. Again, the clip touches the center section of the bow. So put hot glue to the center. Glue it centrally onto the clip. Get the 9 mm wide ribbon. I have heat sealed the end. Put some hot glue to this end. Open the clip, place the ribbon to the inside of the clip where the center of the bow is. Push it down. Then get the ribbon and wrap it around the center of the bow. Bring it to the backside again. Use the edge of the clip as a guide. Cut the ribbon there, then seal the end. Wrap it around again. Put some hot glue to the end of the ribbon. Open the clip, overlap the other end of the ribbon. Press it down. So we've finished this hair bow. If you want your work to be more secure. See the two ends of the clip touch the bow. You can glue the two ends of the clip to the bow. Put some hot glue to one end of the clip. Then place the bow back on the clip. then press it onto the glue, adjust its shape. Just do the same on the other end. There you have another ribbon hair bow. Here I have made some ribbon hair bows with different colored ribbon.
6. Make A Ribbon Bow Headband: How to Wrap Your Headband With Ribbon: In this lesson, I'm going to demonstrate how to wrap a headband with ribbon and get the bow attached. This is the Style A ribbon bow I made with dark brown ribbon. I want to attach this bow to this 5 mm wide metal headband. The silver tone does not match the color of my ribbon bow. So I'll wrap the headband with dark brown ribbon. You can use different colored ribbon to wrap the headband as long as this ribbon color match your bow. I'll be using 6 mm and 9 mm wide dark brown ribbon. I'll get the 6 mm wide ribbon to cover each end of the headband. I've cut two pieces of this ribbon to about 35 mm long. I have heat sealed the ends. Get one ribbon piece, place it on the inside of the headband, then fold it over. I'm going to glue it to cover the end of the headband, like this. Now hold the ribbon on the inside of the headband and put some glue on the outside. Fold it over. Hold it down onto the glue. Then I'll turn it over and put a dab of glue on the inside. Fold it over and press it down. We've finished this end. On the other end of the headband, Just do the exact same thing with the other ribbon piece. I'll skip this process. I've got both ends covered by the ribbon. Then get the 9 mm wide ribbon. I've cut this ribbon to about 1 meter long. From my experience, it should be enough to wrap the headband. Trim off the fray. Then I'll cut this end of the ribbon at about 45 degree angle. Seal the end. Later I will glue the ribbon end on the inside of the headband, overlapping the 6 mm wide ribbon, like that. So we set up an angle to wrap the ribbon around the headband. Now add a dab of glue to the ribbon end, glue it to the inside. Press it down, then turn it over and begin to wrap around to the headband. I want the edges of the ribbon just to overlap each other. I need to pull the ribbon tight as I wrap around. Always double-check the wraps you have finished. Make sure there is no obvious lumps on the outside. You can adjust them a little bit like this. to make the wraps look nice and even. Now I'm happy with the previous wraps. To secure the work, what you can do is to add a bit of glue to the inside of the headband. Here, I'll put a bit of glue. Fold it over to glue the ribbon in place. You can do this every a few wraps. Then, keep wrapping the ribbon around the headband in the same way. Remember to pull the ribbon tight. Just continue wrapping the ribbon till get to the other end. I'll skip this part. I've gone all the way through. Now. I'm here close to this end. I'm going to show you how to finish the work. Here. I need to do one more wrap to cover the edge of that 6 mm wide ribbon. Then fold it over. Later, I need to glue the ribbon to the inside like this. Use the edge of the headband as a guide. I'll cut it here. Just give a small cut on the edge of the ribbon to make a mark. Then unwrap the ribbon. So I have enough space to cut the ribbon at about 45 degree angle. Then seal the end. Pull the ribbon tight. Wrap this end of the ribbon around the headband again. I'll turn it over to show you the inside. Put a dab of glue on the ribbon end, fold it over, hold it down onto the glue. So we've got a ribbon wrapped headband. Now we are ready to attach the bow to this headband. I will attach it around here. On the back side of the bow, put some glue to the center, glue it to the headband. Then get the 9 mm wide ribbon. Heat seal the end. Add a bit of glue. Place it on the inside of the headband where the center of the bow is. Press it down. Then wrap around the center of the bow, overlap the other end of the ribbon. Use the edge of the headband as a guide. Cut it here. Seal the end. Add a bit of glue, wrap it to overlap the other end of the ribbon. Press it down. See the two ends of the bow touch the headband. If you want your work to be more secure, just to follow that optional step I showed before. Glue the ends of the bow to the headband. Add a bit of glue here. Press down the bow onto the glue. Then just do the exact same thing for the other end of the bow. Add a bit of glue here, press down this end of the bow. There we have made a nice ribbon bow headband. I have made this headband using a double stacked ribbon bow. You will learn how to make this stacked bow later in this course.
7. Make A Ribbon Bow With Tails: In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to make a hair bow with tails. I've threaded my needle and tied a knot. I've made this Style A ribbon bow using 38 mm wide ribbon. We're going to attach tails to this bow. I have cut this 25 mm wide ribbon to about 13 cm long. This ribbon piece will be attached right underneath the bow. First line up the two ends, hold them together, cut the ends at about 45 degree angle. Heat seal each end. Now, fold it in half to get a crease. Then just like how we folded the Style B ribbon bow. Fold the middle down, then fold the two edges down. Then take the needle and thread, go in through the center, pull the thread, and wrap the thread around the center three times. Now you have two options. You can attach this ribbon to the bow like this. So the tail ends of your finished hair bow will look like this. The second option is to flip it over, then attach it to the bow like this. So the tail ends will be different. This will be the finished look. So there's two options. I'll go with the first option. Then take the needle and go up through the center of this ribbon. Then get the bow and goes through the center of the bow. Hold them together, align their centers and wrap the thread around the center three times. Then tie off the thread on the back. So do one stitch first, then do another stitch. Go through the loop to form a knot, then pull it tight. Trim off the excess thread. Adjust it to make it look nicer. Now, you can attach a hair clip to this bow. Just repeat the same process I showed before. Put hot glue to the center of the back, glue it to the clip. Use 9 mm wide ribbon to wrap around the center of this bow and glue the ribbon ends on the back. Add the optional steps to the process if you want your work to be more secure. So there we've made a ribbon hair bow with tails. Just show you these two bows I just made with tails attached in two different ways.
8. Make Double Stacked and Triple Stacked Ribbon Bows: In this lesson, I'm going to show how to make a double stacked hair bow and a triple stacked hair bow. I've cut two pieces of 25 mm wide ribbon to 18 cm long. I have heat sealed their ends. First, get one ribbon piece, and just repeat what you have learned to make one Style B ribbon bow and tie off on the back. I just skipped this process, put it aside, then grab the other ribbon piece and make another Style B ribbon bow. I have skipped the beginning part. Now I'm ready to take the needle and thread to go in through the center. Go through all the folds, pull the thread and wrap around the center three times. Then take the needle to go through the center again. Now the thread is coming out the top of the bow. Get the other finished bow and go through the center of this bow. So we are joining these two ribbon bows. Just align their centers. Pull the thread and wrap around the center of the two bows three times. Then just tie off the thread on the back. So make two running stitches. Then go through the loop, pull it tight, trim off the excess thread. So we've finished this double stacked bow by joining two Style B ribbon bows. Later, you can repeat the same process I showed previously. Put a bit of glue on the back of the bow and attach a hair clip or attach it to a headband, then add the center. I have finished a double stacked hair with light beige ribbon and used dark brown ribbon as the center. You can also make this double stacked hair bow using Style A ribbon bows like this. It's more rounded on the outside edge. I have made these double stacked hair bows in different colors. You can join two different colored ribbon bows to make a stacked hair bow. Next, let's make a triple stacked hair bow. This is the double stacked bow we just made together. I have made another Style B ribbon bow using dark brown ribbon. This bow will be placed on top of the double stacked bow like this. On the back of this dark brown ribbon bow, put a bit of glue to the center. Glue it to the center of the double bow, aligning their centers. There, you have a triple stacked ribbon bow. Again, use the same method to attach a hair clip or add this bow to a headband. I also made this triple stacked hair bow using three Style A ribbon bows. Here I have made these triple stacked hair bows. You can create lots of color combinations for your design.
9. Bonus Lesson: Learn An Alternative way to Make Simple Ribbon Bows: If the ribbon you are using is made of thick fabric, like these ones, then after you make the accordion fold, it's impossible to take the needle to go through all the folds. So in this bonus lesson, I will show you an alternative way to make the simple bows. Then we'll use the simple bows to create other ribbon bow styles. I've got my needle and thread ready. I'll still use the plain satin ribbon to clearly show you the stitches. I've cut two ribbon pieces to 18 cm long, sealed the ribbon ends and made the center crease. First, I'll go with the 38 mm wide ribbon to show you the alternative way to make a Style A ribbon bow. Just like what you have learned previously, bring up the bottom edge of the ribbon, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. The fold down the top edge in the same way. I'll flip it over to show you the front side. Take the needle and thread to sew across the center crease. The stitches we are going to do will look like this. We will do 6 running stitches in total. The first stitch and the last stitch are close to the edge on each side. And the other 4 stitches will be done evenly between the first stitch and the last stitch. To do the first stitch, just remember to go in through the side. Then go up, that's the second stitch. Go back in, that's the third stitch. Then go up, go back in, go up to do the final stitch. So your needle will come out through this side. We have done 6 stitches in total. Now, just repeat what you've learned, to fold the ribbon to form Style A ribbon bow. Fold the middle up, bring one side up and down. Then bring the other side up and down to make an accordion fold. Then hold it with one hand. Pull the thread tight and wrap around the center three to four times. Next, just tie off the thread on the back of the bow. I'll skip this part. Adjust it make it look nicer. So this is the alternative way to make Style A ribbon bow. Then get the 25 mm wide ribbon piece. Let's make a Style B ribbon bow using the alternative way. Fold the two edges as I showed before, overlapping the crease by about 4 mm. Flip it over. The stitches we're going to do will look like this. We'll do 4 running stitches in total. The first stitch and the last stitch are close to the edge on each side. And the other 2 stitches will be done evenly between the first stitch and the last stitch. Just remember to go in through the side, that's the first stitch. Then go up, that's the second stitch. Go back in, that's the third stitch. Then go up. So your needle will come out through this side. We have done 4 stitches in total. Then repeat what you have learned to fold the ribbon to form Style B ribbon bow. Fold the middle down, then fold the two edges down. Repeat the same process. Pull the thread tight and wrap around the center three to four times. Then just tie off the thread on the back of the bow. I'll skip this part. This is the alternative way to make Style B ribbon bow. Now, you can make hair bows with different types of ribbon. I have made all of these simple hair bows with different ribbons. Next, let's make the other ribbon bow styles. I'll use these 38 mm and 25 mm wide ribbon to make a ribbon bow with tails. By repeating the same process, I have finished this bow. Now I'm making the tails. We're supposed to go through the center of this ribbon, then go through the center of the bow. But this time, I cannot push the needle in. What I'll do is to tie off the thread on the back of this ribbon. I'll skip this part. Trim off the thread, then glue their centers together like this. So we are joined them without sewing. I'll put some glue here. Then attach it to the bow. Always remember to align their centers. You wouldn't be able to adjust it once the glue sets. Hold them together firmly for few seconds. We've finished this ribbon bow with tails. Then you can add the center and attach a hair clip. Next, I'll use this ribbon to make double stacked and triple stacked ribbon bows. I have made these three simple bows. To make a double stacked bow, just glue their centers together, like this. Add a bit of glue to the center here. Then glue their centers together, hold them together firmly for few seconds. We've finished this double stacked ribbon bow. To make a triple stacked bow, just add another bow like this, same as what you've learned in the previous lesson. Put a bit of glue on the back of this bow. Glue it to the center of this double bow, aligning their centers. So we've got a triple stacked bow.
10. Final thoughts: I hope you have enjoyed this course. Now you can make several ribbon hair bow styles with different types of ribbon. I cannot wait to see some beautiful works from you. Please feel free to ask a question if you find anything is unclear. I'm here to help. Thank you again for taking this course. Happy crafting.
Greta Lan, Jewelry & Accessory Designer, YouTuber
