Pinwheel Hairbows

I am not a very girly girl, never have been, but when I found out I was having a girl, I have to admit that I was excited about the things I could make for her.  Pinafores, simple dresses, and yes, even hair bows.  I went through a period last spring where I just worked on how to get these things right, and now I think I’ve gotten a couple styles down.  My favorite so far is the pinwheel.  It’s pretty simple, and you only need a couple things to make it.  I don’t remember which tutorial I actually used, there are a lot out there.

I guess I should also note that I now sell these, which makes them cheaper to make since I only make them in a limited color range and I buy the supplies in bulk.  But the prices I note are the prices you'd find at Joann.  In case you're interested in making a bunch, I get my supplies at Hip Girl Boutique. 

Supplies ready to go!

You will need

Thread (leftover, free)

Scissors (gifted, free)

Lighter (ancient, free)

Hair clip ($3.49 per 2 clips, $3.49/2 clips = $1.75)

18 inches of 7/8” wide ribbon ($3.49 per 18ft, $3.49/216in = $.02 x 18in = $.29)

4 inches of 3/8” wide ribbon ($1.99 per 18ft, $1.99/216in = $.01 x 4in = $.04)

Hot glue gun ($4.29)

First wrap...

...then pinch accordion style...

...and adjust it while it's loosely tied.

Wrap the main color around your hand so you have three layers on top and two on bottom.  Accordion fold all the layers together as they lay in the middle of your bundle and pinch it together.  Make sure that the ends of the accordion fold are both facing to the back.  Wrap around this pinched spot with your thread a couple times, but don’t knot it yet.  At this point you can adjust your bow so that all the loops are even and it looks the way you want it to.  

Cut the ribbon edges and heat seal them.

Now it's ready to attach to the clip.

Once you are satisfied, pull your thread very tightly and knot it.  Clip the ends of the thread off.  Now take the tails of ribbon, fold them in half length-wise, and cut at a diagonal to get a double tailed effect (or just cut a straight diagonal across if you’d rather).  Take your lighter and quickly pass it over the new ribbon tails to prevent fraying.  Be careful!  You don’t want to overheat the ribbon or it’ll go all wonky!  

My loose knot for the center of the bow.

Now take your accent color ribbon and tie a loose knot in the middle.  Put a small dab of glue in the center of your pinwheel and affix the knot in top.  But a small dab of glue on the back of the pinwheel and affix an OPEN hair clip.  Quickly pull one of the accent color tails across the inside of the hairclip and allow the clip to close.  Cut and heat seal the Piece you just glued down.  Put a small dab of glue on the accent ribbon inside the clip and pull the other side of the ribbon across it.  Clip and heat seal that side. Since Elizabeth doesn’t have much in the hair department, I clip this thing to a headband for now.  Why tiger stripes?  Well, my kids attend a lot of sporting events, so this is an easy way to show our Tiger pride.  Go Tigers!  Don’t have a little girl?  You could also attach a pin back.  

Elizabeth with her headband.

Same bow on my grownup head for size reference.

 Try It

The supplies for the bow itself cost $2.08.  I had to buy a glue gun for this project.  If you think you'll make more than a couple bows than I definitely suggest taking to the web to buy clips.  Before shipping it takes the cost of clips down to $.10 a piece.

Buy It

Pinwheel hairbows range in cost, but usually go for around $4 - $6.

Verdict

Try It if you've got the patience for hot glue.  I guess there's the possibility of spending a lot on ribbon that you only use once, but you could also make them for gifts.