How to Make Tutu Hair Bows

Whether you need a recital hair accessory for your little ballerina or an everyday bow for a ballet-loving little girl, you can fashion an accessory that looks like a tutu and evokes the ballet aesthetic. You can stitch tulle into the round, full shape of a ballerina's skirt to form a base for the bow. From there, a classic bow embellishment on top of the miniature tutu will finish your stage-worthy creation.

Things You'll Need

• Tulle, 2 feet by 2 feet
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• 1/2-inch wide ribbon
• Hot glue
• French pinch barrette

Instructions

1. Cut a piece of tulle that is 24 inches by 2 1/2 inches. Use sharp scissors to cut the tulle and work slowly to avoid snagging the material.

2. Cut a 24-inch piece of thread. Feed the thread into the eye of a sewing needle until the needle is in the middle of the thread. Bring both ends of the thread together. Tie them in a knot 1 inch away from the ends of the thread. You should have a 12-inch long double thread.

3. Insert the needle into a corner of the tulle from the underside. Insert the needle through the material again 1/4-inch away from the previous insertion spot. Insert the needle up through the material again 1/4-inch from the second insertion spot. The needle should look like a line of dashes along the long edge of the tulle.

4. Pull the needle and thread through until the knot catches on the fabric. This is a running stitch that allows you to make multiple stitches at once. Continue the running stitch along the edge of the ribbon until you reach the other end. The material will start to gather on the thread as you work.

5. Pull the thread to make the material gather in a compact circle. Tie the loose thread to the thread at the other end of the tulle circle. Trim the excess string with scissors.

6. Cut two 9-inch long pieces of 1/2-inch wide ribbon.

7. Center one piece of ribbon behind a steady, narrow object like the finger of a young assistant or a pencil anchored at the edge of a table. Tie the ribbon into a basic bow as you would tie shoelaces. Slide the bow off the narrow object.

8. Feed the other ribbon into the loop of the tied bow that was around the narrow object. Position the ribbon perpendicular to the tied bow. Pull the loops of the tied bow to secure the loose ribbon in the arrangement.

9. Tie the ribbon into a basic bow. Pull the loops and tails of the composite double bow to tighten and balance the arrangement.

10. Apply a pea-sized bead of hot glue to the underside of the bow. Press it onto the top of the tulle circle.

11. Apply a pea-sized bead of hot glue to the underside of the tulle. Press it into the top of a French pinch barrette.