How to make super easy (and super cute!) DIY Hair Bows PLUS 4 Festive patterns to try
It feels like Autumn has finally arrived in my little part of the world, it’s been raining non-stop for 3 days (to the point where my pond is nearly overflowing!) and we’ve had the heating on for the past week. Some of the trees in the garden are starting to drop their leaves and the nights are drawing in. Anyone else would probably be celebrating the arrival of fall and the nearing prospect of Halloween but not us crafters, nope – we’re already panicking that we’re behind with our Christmas crafting 😂
We all know now that this Christmas is going to look a lot different to previous years – some people don’t have as much money to put towards presents due to job loses or furlough and some won’t be able to be with family so I’ve been coming up with some fab DIY’s for gifts and decorations that are pretty cheap to make, can be sent through the post easily AND if you get the crafting bug can even be sold to make you some extra cash in time for Christmas.
Today we’re going to be learning how to make Hair Bows – they are super easy and quick to make, are perfect stocking fillers and you don’t even need a Cricut Machine to make them!
DIY Hair Bows – Step By Step
Hair Bow Supplies
- Glitter Fabric/Faux Leather/Leatherette – I bought my material for this project from CraftyBear.co.uk but there is a great selection on Amazon, AliExpress
- Crocodile Clips – Amazon
Tools
- Hot Glue Gun – I’ve just bought myself this precision glue gun and it’s brilliant
- Cricut Machine/other vinyl cutting machine OR a decent pair of scissors – If you want some really good, sharp scissors then you have to look at Fiskars, I have multiple pairs of scissors and rotary cutters from them and they are still in pristine condition
Where to find the best hair bow templates
My go-to resource for any templates or SVG cut files is always DesignBundles.net, I searched for Hair Bow Templates on there and it came up with over 800 results! I found a designer on there called Maisie Moo Design and fell in love with all of her hair bow patterns – all of the designs in this tutorial are from her shop (I’ll be sure to share the exact link for each one)
Making Hair Bows with the Cricut Maker
Upload your SVG
Download your chosen file (make sure to unzip the folder if it comes as a zipped file) then go to Design Space, create a new project and upload your Bow SVG file.
Resize Bow Template
When resizing your project make sure that you have all the project layers highlighted so that they resize proportionally with each other. The file you’ve purchase might tell you what the overall size of your finished bow will be but if it doesn’t the easiest way to tell is to look at the size of the biggest piece – take the length measurement of that piece and divide by 2 (as the fabric is folded in on itself to make the bow)
There is no right or wrong size to make a bow – I think that 4.5inches is a nice overall bow size but if you are looking to make Baby Bows 2.5 inches may be a better size.
Change Bow Colours
The amount of colours you need for your bow depends on the design you have selected. I find the easiest way to choose is to lay your materials out and pick your colour palette and then decide on how you want to layer those colours. I like to match the colours on design space to the colours fo the material I’m using as it makes it easier to layout my mats and saves confusion. I’m using a black and white stripe glitter fabric, gold glitter fabric and red mirror leatherette for this bow so have changed the colours accordingly
Cut the Pattern
Once you are happy with the colours and size of your bow you can click the ‘Make It’ button.
I did a few tests cuts for this project before writing this tutorial and found that if you are using the Cricut Maker rotary blade then it’s easier to move the pattern pieces away from the edged of the material (especially if it’s a thicker fabric) so that it doesn’t accidentally snag on the edge when cutting.
Material Settings for Bows in Cricut Design Space
Finding the right settings for bow materials such as faux leather and glitter canvas can be a bit tricky but these are the settings I’ve found to work best for me
- Glitter Canvas: It’s the type of material that feels quite stiff and will hold its form if you try and bend it a bit. Use ‘Heavy Fabrics (like Denim) setting
- Faux Leatherette: The default option in Design Space is for ‘paper-thin’ leather but any faux leather I’ve found or used is definitely thicker than paper so I had a look at the pressure settings and went for one that was a few levels higher. Use Metallic Leather setting
Glue Together
The last part of the process is to glue all of the bow parts together! I use a precision hot glue gun for this, I fold them first to see where they need to line up and then just put a dab of glue and hold it together until it sets. Layer your bows up, attach a crocodile clip to the back and you’re done!
Making DIY Hair Bows without a Cricut/Cutting Machine
All of the patterns/SVG files I have shared in this post come with a PDF print version, all you need to do is print it out and cut the paper pattern pieces, draw around them on your fabric and cut out with a good pair of scissors!
4 Festive DIY Hair Bow Projects
I’m never one to miss out on a fun project, especially when it can be turned a bit festive, so I’ve made 4 Christmas themed bows using the exact steps above. DIY hair bows might be my new favourite thing to make!
Christmas Holly Hair Bow
Made using…
- Christmas Hair Bow SVG file by Maisie Moo Design
- Emerald Chunky Glitter
- Light Gold Leatherette
- Red Mirror Leatherette
This would be the perfect template to scale up a little bit and use as a fancy bow for wrapping Christmas gifts!
Candy Cane Hair Bow
Made using…
- Candy Cane Hair Bow SVG file by Maisie Moo Design
- Humbug Glitter Fabric
- Light Gold Fine Glitter Fabric
- Red Mirro Leatherette
I love the colour palette of this bow, I’m tempted to see if I can get away with wearing it myself.
Classic Layered Bow
Made using…
- Ria Hair Bow SVG file by Maisie Moo Design
- ZAIONE 7pcs Fabric pack from Amazon (comes in a massive range of colour collections – I used the ‘Nude’ collection)
This is the sort of pattern that you could scale to any size and it’d look lovely, it could be made extra small for a babies headband or made massive and used as a dance competition bow.
Narrow Stacked Hair Bow
Made using…
- Diana Hair Bow SVG file by Maisie Moo Design
- Mint Frost Fabric Bundle
- Mermaid Diamond Fabric Bundle
- Elsa Embellishment
This bow is going to be my nieces favourite – I choose the fabrics as blue is her favourite colour and, like most little girls, Elsa and anything Frozen related is always a winner!
Free Hair Bow SVG Templates
There are plenty of Free Hair Bow templates around the internet, most aren’t as intricate/layered as the ones I’ve shown you above but they are still really cute!
- Free Standard Bow Template and SVG Cut File – Gina Creates
- 18 FREE Cricut Hair Bow Cut Files – Daydream into Reality
- Free Dripping Hair Bow File – DesignBundles.net
- Free Three Layer Faux Leather Bow File – DesignBundles.net
- Unicorn Bow Free Cut file – Domestic Heights