How to Make Hair Ribbons

For centuries, women and men have used ribbons in their hair for many reasons---to pull hair away from the face or to accent hair and create hairstyles that match fashion. Whether you need hair ribbons for cheerleading, to create a specific hairstyle or to personalize your "look," you can make hair ribbons at home with a few easy-to-find items.

Things You'll Need

• Ribbon
• Ponytail elastic bands
• Barrettes
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Plastic knife
• Glue gun
• Charm or faux gemstones

Instructions

1. Buy ribbon and hair accessories (ponytail elastic bands and barrettes) in various colors, sizes, materials and styles based on your preferences and project needs. Although you can purchase ribbon pre-cut for this type of project, explore the ribbon department of a craft or fabric store for a wider selection so that your hair ribbons reflect your personality or clothing styles. You can also review hair accessories online at the scunci, a division of Conair Corporation, Web site (see Resources).

2. Tie, with a knot, the end of a piece of a flexible fabric or narrow non-fabric ribbon to the loop of a ponytail elastic band to make a single-ribbon ponytail hair ribbon. Cut the ribbon to the length you want for your hair. If you used a piece of straight curling ribbon, pull the ribbon between your thumb and the flat edge of a plastic knife to curl.

3. Thread a piece of ribbon through the loop of an elastic band to begin making a ponytail hair ribbon with multiple ribbons. Continue pulling it through the loop until the ribbon is the length you want for your hair with about 2 inches to spare and then double the length to make a single long piece of ribbon. Cut off any excess.

4. Hang the elastic band from your ribbon---like a charm on a necklace---and then tie the ribbon to the elastic band with a single knot at the center of the ribbon to create two smaller separate ribbons hanging from the knot. For additional ribbons, repeat this process and then tie the multiple strands by grasping all of the ribbons together and tying with a single knot.

5. Glue the end of a ribbon to the underside of the top of a barrette to make a single-ribbon barrette hair ribbon. Cut the ribbon to the length that you want for your hair. You can also glue the ribbon to the outside of the top of the barrette, but follow Step 7 if you decide to do so. Keep in mind that if you don't want to use glue and have a narrow ribbon, you can tie it to the barrette to hang from the point where the top and bottom pieces of the barrette meet.

6. Knot the ends of several ribbons together and glue to the outside of the top of a barrette to make a barrette hair ribbon with multiple ribbons. Cut the ribbon to the length that you want for your hair and then go to Step 7. As with a single narrow ribbon, you can also tie multiple narrow ribbons to a barrette if the barrette is large enough to accommodate.

7. Accessorize your hair ribbons with charms or faux gemstones to give your elastic bands or barrettes a stylish look and to hide where you tied or glued your ribbon.

Tips & Warnings

• Use ribbon with bendable trim (fine wire or stiff nylon thread inside the trim) to bend your ribbon into various styles.

• Never touch hot glue or a glue gun's metal tip when in use, as both can cause severe burns.

References

• Trendy Tresses

Resources

• scunci Hair Products