Gift Wrap Hair Bow: A Layered Ribbon Bow on a Clip

This gift wrap hair bow looks like the puffy, layered bow on top of a wrapped present, only smaller. It’s made from stacked figure-eight loops of ribbon, each one patterned ribbon laid over plain ribbon. The finished bow is glued to a hair clip, so it works as a little girl’s hair accessory.

The clip also lets the bow do a second job. Clip it to the top of a wrapped gift and it becomes a bow the recipient can take off and wear.

Supplies

Plain ribbon: three pieces at 11 inches, three at 10 inches and one at 3 inches
Decorative ribbon cut to the same lengths, so each loop has two layers
A stapler
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
A hair clip, such as an alligator clip
Optional: a lighter or a seam sealant such as Fray Check for the cut ends

Cut the plain ribbon a little wider than the decorative ribbon so a border of the plain color shows on each side. Cut ends can fray, so seal them with a quick pass of a lighter flame or a dab of seam sealant before you start.

How to Make the Bow

Sort the ribbon pieces into groups by length: the 11-inch pieces, the 10-inch pieces and the 3-inch pieces.
Lay each decorative strip on top of a plain strip of the same length.
Put a small dot of hot glue in the center between the two strips to hold them together.
Take each paired strip except the 3-inch ones and bring both ends to the middle so it forms a figure eight with a loop on each side. Staple through the center where the ends overlap. The staple holds better than glue alone, and the top layers will hide it.
When all the figure eights are done, stack them with the largest loops on the bottom and the smallest on top, adding hot glue between each layer. Turning each layer a little, so two loops cross in an X, makes the bow look fuller.
Glue the two 3-inch pieces together, curl them into a small loop and glue it to the very top to cover the center.
Turn the bow over and glue the hair clip to the back. Hold it in place until the glue sets.

Hot glue and staples call for adult hands. Kids can help pick ribbons and sort the pieces. Keep finished hair clips away from children under three, since they’re small parts.

Variations

Line the clip. For a neater back, cover the top of an alligator clip with a short strip of 3/8-inch ribbon. Glue it to the top of the clip, then fold the end over the back and glue it underneath. A piece of felt glued inside the top of the clip, with a small square of rubber shelf liner on top, keeps the clip from pulling fine baby hair.

Make a smaller bow. Three loop sizes make a big bow. For a toddler, use the same method with shorter pieces of narrow 3/8-inch grosgrain ribbon, such as 7-inch lengths, and stack three figure eights in a flower shape.

Change the center. In place of the small top loop, glue a button, a fabric rosette or a flat-backed rhinestone in the middle of the stack.

Match the season. Since the bow is meant to look like gift wrap, pair a printed ribbon with a solid that matches it, like red and green for Christmas or pink and white for Valentine’s Day. Then clip it to a present wrapped in the same colors.

Use it as a gift topper. Clip the finished bow to the ribbon on a wrapped box in place of a stick-on bow. It comes off without damage and can go straight into someone’s hair.