DIY Hair Clips

Kaitlyn is almost always seen wearing some type of bow clip in her hair. They are a necessity for keeping her long bangs out of her eyes. We've been through dozens of hair clips but I am always struggling to find the perfect one that a) stays put in her hair, b) matches her outfit, and c) does not cost too much. After browsing Etsy for some overpriced hair clips, I realized that they really can't be that hard to make, and I could probably do it myself for really cheap. So after an internet search and a few purchases, I can now show off my own DIY hair clips!

Here is what you need: metal alligator clips, ribbon, and a hot glue gun. The metal double-prong clips (I found mine on eBay) work best for gluing on the ribbon, and also stay put in fine toddler hair very well.

I scored this giant pack of grosgrain ribbon from HomeGoods for ten bucks. So many colors!

The steps are simple. First, cut a piece of ribbon about twice the length of the clip.

Then, using the hot glue gun apply a dot of glue to one end of the ribbon and stick it on the underside of the clip. This was actually my first time using a glue gun and I went trigger happy. So addictive!

Keep applying hot glue to the ribbon and wrap it around the clip so that the entire top half of the clip is covered. Some clips I've used also have the bottom half covered with the ribbon, but they don't stay in Kaitlyn's hair as easily.

Now to make a bow for the clip, cut three pieces of ribbon about three inches long. Tie a knot with one of the ribbon pieces. With the other two pieces, make a loop and glue the ends together. 

Add a dot of glue to the inside of each loop and pinch the centers of the loops together. Then, stack the two loops on top of each other in a flat 'X' and glue those two pieces together.

Finally, take the ribbon with the knot and after placing a dot of glue behind the knot, place it in the center of the X.  Turn the bow over and glue each end to the back. You may have to trim off any excess ribbon.

You just made a bow without actually tying a bow. Pretty cool trick huh?  Thank you, internet. You can now glue the bow to the top of the hair clip and you are done!

There are so many options on what you can do with these. I made a few hair clips with bows and some others with a single-loop bow. Some I decorated with old buttons, but most of them I just left plain until I can think of other ways to decorate them.

I made all of these over two nights and now Kaitlyn has a great stash of hair clips to match with any outfit, with more to come!