I know the idea of a bow holder is not original at all. But I have to tell you, I had tried a handful of different ways to organize my daughter’s bows, and nothing was working right. So one night while I was trying to fall asleep, I dreamed up the “perfect bow holder.” (Please tell me you dream in crafts too, tee hee)!
Here was my dilemma… over the years, I’ve made a lot of bows for my girls. Some of the bows are attached to a french barrette (the kind that snaps shut) and some are made on an alligator clip (the kind that you pinch). I used to hang all the bows on a piece of rope, but the alligator clips didn’t open wide enough to stay put. So then I hung all the bows on a piece of ribbon, but the french barrettes kept slipping down. I like to organize them all by color, and not by what type of hardware they’re attached to. So here’s my solution.
I took a skinny ribbon and sewed it to a larger ribbon, every 5 inches apart, which will prevent any bows from slipping down to the bottom (and messing up my organization)!
This way, all the alligator clips don’t have to open too wide and don’t get stretched out, and the french barrettes have no place to fall since there’s a line of stitching to keep them in place.
Does this make any sense at all? I hope so! I’m sure by now you all think I’m nuts! At least I’ve got a convenient way to display and find our hair bows!
Here are a few pictures of the ones I made for our house. They are hanging in the hallway by the kid’s bathroom. Believe it or not, we’ve got two more sets of these bow holders hanging on the opposite wall. 🙂
I used decorative stitches to sew the small ribbon to it. To hang the bow holders, I just found a cute piece of hardware at my local craft store, and hang them each.
Do you want to make one? It’s really easy. You could even use hot glue in place of sewing.
Supplies:
Wide Ribbon- I used The Ribbon Retreat’s Grosgrain Moonstitch in turqoise/pink
Skinny Ribbon- I used The Ribbon Retreat’s Saddlestitch in kimberly pink/white
Thread- I used The Ribbon Retreat’s So Fine in “It’s a Girl!”
Directions:
1. Measure and cut 3 lengths each of the wide and skinny ribbon. Mine are 70 inches long.
2. Then cut 3 more lengths of the skinny ribbon. Mine are 6 inches. This will create the loops for how you hang the bow holder.
3. We are creating the top of one of the bow holders. Place the skinny ribbon on top of the wide ribbon, and make sure it’s centered. Then, you’ll take the top raw edges, fold over once, then again, to conceal the raw edges. Then you’ll take the loop and slip it under the fold.
4. Now you’ll sew that down with a straight stitch.
Here’s how it looks from the back:
5. Now you’re ready to sew the skinny ribbon to the wide ribbon all the way down. I measured mine 6 inches apart. Mark ever so slightly where you’ll be sewing.
Here’s how it’ll look:
6. Now you just need to finish off the bottom! Just fold over twice, then sew!
Remember to trim all the threads, and you’re done!
Don’t forget to find something cute to hang it on!
