• Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Contact
    • Contributors
    • Collaborate
    • The Newsletter
  • Crafts
    • Reader Favorites
    • Polymer Clay
    • Watercolors
    • Let’s Paint
    • Adult Coloring
    • Paper Crafts
    • Jewelry
    • Mod Podge
    • Flowers
    • Little Lines
    • Inspiration
  • Freebies
    • iPhone Wallpapers
    • Gift Boxes
  • Seasonal
    • Spring
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
  • Shop
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

Lines Across

Lets Make a Mess

{No Sew} Felt Bows

September 22, 2011 by Rachel 14 Comments

These felt bows are so easy to make and turn out very cute. There are also so many different ways that you can use them, and they cost just a few cents to make. All you need is felt, a hot glue gun, and scissors.

I was inspired by these beautiful felt bows from {Every}Nothing Wonderful. Also check out how she uses old tights or hose to make headbands. I am definitely going to give that a try. I decided to make smaller no sew bows.

I made them as hair bows for Lyla’s hair, but I think I will use them in a lot of other projects as well.

1. Cut a strip of felt 1 inch wide and 4 (to 4.5) inches long. Cut a second strip of felt that is 1 cm wide and about 1 inch long. Lastly, cut out 2 pieces that will go behind the bow.
2. Dab a little hot glue down the center of the strip. Fold over both edges and press down until the glue starts to dry. This side will be the back of the bow. Don’t use too much glue or it will harden and be difficult to work with.
3. Before the glue completely dries, pinch the front middle of the bow until the glue hardens.
4. Flip the bow over and fold up the edges to give the bow little creases. Then glue the strip around the center of the bow. You may need to trim it so that none of it is visible from the front.
5. Glue the 2 ribbon-like pieces to the back of the bow. Make sure that they are the right size and shape before you attach them.
6. Ta da!
There are so many variations you can make.
1. Use fabric instead of felt for the strip in the middle. Simply cut a piece of fabric about 1 inch wide. Fold this into thirds so that the frayed edges are not visible and glue.
2. Use different colored felt for the bow and for the center/ends. I think they are fun to make in your favorite team’s colors. I made a Florida Gators bow for Lyla to wear in her hair. {shh don’t tell Grant}.
3. For the green bow, I stitched a white edge around the large piece. I also reversed the creases.
4. You can play around and experiment with the size and shape of the bow. For the turquoise bow I made the first strip 3/4″ wide and 5 inches long. I made the center strip also 3/4″ wide.
To make larger or smaller bows in the same shape and proportions of the first red bow, make sure that your strip is 1 unit by 4 units. For example:
XS bow (1 inch wide): 1/2 inch by 2 inches
S bow (1 1/2 inches wide): 3/4 inches by 3 inches
M bow (2 inches wide): 1 inch by 4 inches
L bow (3 inches wide): 1 1/2 inches by 6 inches
XL bow (4 inches wide): 2 inches by 8 inches

 Great ways to use these felt bows.

1. Make a felt bow and paperclip bookmark. These are so cute and easy to make. You can usually just slip the large paperclip through the middle strip. Sometimes there is too much glue so it is easier to glue the middle strip around the paperclip.

2. Use these bows as jewelry. I want to make a necklace out of them, but for now I made a simple felt bow bracelet.

3. String a lot of these bows in coordinating colors and make a felt bow bunting. Use them to decorate picture frames, vases, or lampshades. Use them as gift bows.

4. Make hair bows and clips. You could attach these to a variety of hair clips. I just slipped a simple hair pin through the back of the middle strip. If you are planning on using the bows as hair clips from the start, I would go ahead and glue the center strip around the hair pin. This worked very well for Lyla’s hair. You could also attach them to a headband.

These bows look beautiful on Lyla. I love how there is a much younger picture of Lyla in the background. 

About Rachel

Craft blogger. Color lover. Mess maker. Mom of three. You can find me at Lines Across sharing my creative adventures and tutorials on how to make stuff.

Somewhere Over the Button Rainbow
Babies Can Drink From Straws

Comments

  1. Alison@Oopsey Daisy says

    September 22, 2011 at 9:42 pm

    Super, super cute! I love how simple and colorful these are!

    Reply
  2. Anna@Directions Not Included says

    September 23, 2011 at 2:20 am

    What a simple yet adorable bow! They look especially cute on Lyda.

    Reply
  3. Just Me says

    September 23, 2011 at 8:51 am

    Que fofinha!!
    Kiss, kiss

    Reply
  4. Zoe says

    September 24, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    This is so so cute- And your little one does look adorable in them- good job!!

    Reply
  5. april@gingerbread says

    September 25, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    These bows are soooo adorable!
    I hope you will link up with me here:
    http://www.thegingerbreadblog.com/2011/09/sweet-saturday-v6.html

    Reply
  6. Jenni says

    September 26, 2011 at 12:04 am

    these are adorable! so easy to do! i just bought some at a vintage market and payed $6 a pop…no more! going to make myself!

    thank you for posting! i plan on using with an alligator clip!

    Reply
  7. Joni Nickrent says

    September 26, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    Very cute…awesome tute! Tweeting too! Pop Art Minis

    Reply
  8. Mandi@MandiBeingCrafty says

    September 27, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Super cute! I love how many different things you can do with them! Thanks for sharing! Visiting from Running with Glitter link party.

    Reply
  9. Coley says

    September 27, 2011 at 3:10 am

    This is awesome!

    Reply
  10. Sandra Appling says

    September 28, 2011 at 3:50 am

    These are super cute and look pretty easy! Can't wait to start using up my extra felt!

    Reply
  11. Twinkle Star says

    September 28, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    I am obsessed with fabric flowers at the moment, but I think these bows will soon be joining that obsession! Fab tutorial, thanks for sharing! x

    Reply
  12. Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com says

    October 3, 2011 at 4:46 am

    These are so sweet and yet so simple! Now would be time to make a bunch to have available for on Christmas presents! Thanks for joining last week's What's In The Gunny Sack? link party and I hope to see you again for tomorrow's party!

    Reply
  13. Audra @ The Kurtz Corner says

    October 3, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    You been featured! Check it out 🙂

    http://www.thekurtzcorner.com/2011/10/link-party-features-no7.html

    Reply
  14. Marie says

    October 6, 2011 at 3:03 am

    So stinking cute! I love all the different options you gave for wearing them! Thanks so much for linking up with us at Show & Share! Hope you’re joining us again this week!
    http://mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com/2011/10/show-share-8.html

    Marie
    Mylilpinkpocket.blogspot.com

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Well hello! ••• I’m Rachel. Let’s Make a Mess.

Sign up for weekly updates and exclusive freebies.

Let’s Connect

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Popular Posts

Paper Pyramid Gift Boxes

Paper Pyramid Gift Boxes

How to Make a Unicorn Pumpkin

How to Make a Unicorn Pumpkin

Fall Coloring Page

Fall Coloring Page

Recent Posts

  • DIY Wooden Pencil Cup
  • Weaving without a Loom
  • Unicorn Mason Jars
  • Our Little Adventure with Toyota Corolla
  • DIY Plant Stand
  • DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Crafts
  • Freebies
  • Seasonal
  • Shop

© 2025 · Pretty Creative WordPress Theme by, Pretty Darn Cute Design