DIY Felt Bows
Felt bows add textured detail to any gift. Felt is a material which combines plush softness, and ease of use to create basic bows with a large impact. Felt bows can be used to decorate packaging or to add some style to plain barrettes and hair clips. Felt bows can even be designed to look like seasonal objects, such as leaves or butterflies. Making your own felt bows requires only some basic craft making materials, and a bit of skill.
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Things You'll Need
- Scissors
- Tape measure
- Felt
- Needle
- Thread
- Hot glue gun
- Glue
- Stencil
- Fusible webbing
- Lightweight wire
- Wire snips
- Iron
Instructions
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1
Use scissors to cut your felt into two strips. The strips should measure 2 1/8-by-1 3/8 inches, and 1 3/8-by-7/16 inches.
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2
Tie off a knot at the end of your thread. Place your larger felt strip on a flat surface horizontally. Slide your needle into the bottom edge of your larger felt strip at its center point. Weave the needle up and down through the felt, skipping about 1/2 inch with every pass. For example, start on the top side and pass the needle through the felt, to the bottom side. Skip about 1/2 inch, and pass the needle back from the bottom side, through to the top. Repeat this process in both directions until your needle ends up where it started.
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3
Pull the needle gently, so the thread causes the felt strip to bunch up on itself. The knotted end of the thread should serve as the anchor against which you are pulling. The felt should take on the look of a bow.
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4
Turn the smaller of your felt strips over on itself, so it forms a loop. Wrap the loop around the cinched center of your bow, so it hides the stitching, and gives it a belted look. Use your hot glue gun and glue to fasten the belt to itself at the back of the bow. Use your needle and thread to sew the belt to itself at the rear of the bow for a more long lasting finish, or if you plan to mount your bow on a hair pin or barrette.
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5
Slide a hair pin or barrette beneath beneath the belt at the rear of the bow. Use your needle and thread to fasten the bow to the pin or barrette by stitching them together in several locations, for added strength.
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Tips & Warnings
Try making felt bows with unique shapes like leaves. Use a stencil to cut the shape you desire out of a piece of felt. Lay fusible webbing on the felt. Cut and bend lightweight wire to represent the veins in your leaf, then sandwich the whole thing with a second stencil-cut piece of felt. Use your iron to activate the webbing and your leaf is done.
Add a ribbon-shaped backing to your felt bows. Cut a piece of felt about 1 inch longer than your bow. Use your scissor to cut a V-shaped notch out of each end of the long strip. Lay your bow atop the long strip and wrap the whole thing with a belt. Use your glue gun to hold the pieces together.
Use caution when working with dangerous tools like needles. Never allow unsupervised children to handle needles.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images
