Red White Blue!!

{ Firecracker Hair Bow Tutorial }

Now days if you're a mother to a little girl, you know bows are IN! :-) 

So, here's a tutorial on what I call the "Firecracker Bow"! 

Here's my little girl, Madison modeling her newest bow!

Here's what you need: 

2 strips of 1 1/2 inch grosgrain ribbon, 6 inches in length (ends V cut and heat singed)

2 strips of 7/8 inch grosgrain ribbon, 7 inches in length (ends V cut and heat singed)

1 strip of 1 1/2 inch grosgrain ribbon, 18 inches in length (end V cut and heat singed)

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Acrylic jewel

Thread (matching color)

Needle (any size will be fine)

Alligator hair clip

**Tips: 

Go ahead and thread your needle, have glue gun hot and alligator clip lined before you begin. 

Be patient, especially with the folding technique. It may take a couple times until you like the way it looks :-) Practice makes perfect! Before you know it, you'll do it right every time! 
Don't forget to heat singe the ends of ribbon. It prevents fraying! 

Fold the longest ribbon like below.

Fold up like below.

 Fold down again, underneath. Below is what it should look like.

Hold it with both hands (only showing one b/c I'm holding the camera)

Pinch one side in the middle, like below.

With other hand, pinch the other side.

Then you'll be able to hold with one hand, like below. 

Place needle through the middle of where you're pinching it together.

Wrap thread around the center several times, slightly pulling each time

 and then tie it off. Trim excess thread.

Shape the bow to how you want it to look.

 Don't be afraid to do this, you've tightly secured it-it shouldn't break :)

Below is what your top bow should look like.

Place a dab of hot glue in the center of one strip.

 Lay the other on top, making an 'X' shape. 

This is your base.

Next is the middle. 

Take both 7/8 inch ribbons and pinch the centers together.  

Thread needle through the center and wrap around, pulling tightly after each wrap.

Tie off and trim excess thread. Shape it and it should look like below.

Place a dab of hot glue in the middle of your base. Place middle bow on top.

Place another dab of hot glue onto the center of that middle bow. 

Then place your top bow onto that. It should look like below.

Hot glue an acrylic crystal in the center and

~Wallah!!~

The last thing to do is to hot glue on a partially lined alligator.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial !!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions! Feel free to comment :-)

Fancy Bows Boutique on Facebook is my home business if you're interested in taking a look at some other girly things I've made!

I decided to take a break from selling right now and will notify my fans when I return.