How to Make Fabric Bows Tutorial

In case you haven’t noticed, fabric bows are insanely popular right now! Everywhere I look, I see bows I think. I love the look of the rounded fabric bows, especially on little girls. So of course, I had to make my sweet baby girl a bunch of rounded fabric bows to wear! I put the bows on simple stretchy lace headbands and they are adorable! And yep, I’ll show you how to make fabric bows plus provide the free bow template for you to use!

Fabric Bows

how to make fabric bows These bows are easy to make and only take about 15 minutes each.
round fabric bow
Little Desi Jane wore one of her bow headbands for her 3 months photo shoot a couple weeks ago. Isn’t she just a doll?! I am loving having a little baby girl! My two boys are loads of fun, but man, this little girl has me wrapped around her little pinky!
Rounded Fabric Bows
fabric bows

How to Make Fabric Bows

Supplies:

  • fabric- cotton or jersey work well. {this is a fantastic craft for fabric scraps!}
  • scissors
  • sewing machine
  • free Fabric Bow Template {click to download!}

fabric bow tutorial

  1. Using my free Fabric Bow Template, cut out 2 pieces per bow.
  2. With right sides together, sew the 2 pieces together leaving  a 1.5″ opening.
  3. Using your scissors, cut around the curved portions of the bow every 1/4″. *Be very careful not to cut the thread!
  4. Turn your bow right side out and sew the opening shut.
  5. Tie a knot in the middle of the bow making sure to conceal the seam from Step 4.

Then add your fabric bow to a headband, pin, hat, warmers, etc! And that is how to make fabric bows. Easy, right?!
round bow

These little fabric bows are super easy to make and totally stylin! They are great for girls of all ages :)

Don’t know how to sew? Check out this precious No-Sew Fabric Bow tutorial!

Who could you make these little fabric bows for? What fabric would you use?

Make sure to follow Craftaholics Anonymous® on Bloglovin for new crafts and on Pinterest for crafting inspiration from around the web!

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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Comments

  1. 2
    Judy

    Hi, Love that little headband with the flower. I would like to make some for a special little baby girl that I will not see until October. She will then be 4 months old and I wonder what size the headband needs to be. And what should I use to make the headband, or should I buy one premade?

    Thanks for you help.

    1. 2.1

      Hi Judy,
      You can easily make your own headband! Get some fold over elastic or lace elastic and hot glue the ends together. Then glue on the bow. I like to put a small piece of felt to sandwich the elastic, but you don’t have to do that. I’d cut the elastic to be 15″ long to fit a 4 month old. Hope this helps!
      thanks,
      Linda

  2. 3

    Those are so stinkin’ precious! Thanks for the pattern. I’ve got so much colored elastic just itching to be used.

    XO,
    Steph

  3. 5
    Lauren

    How did you attach the bow to the headband? Did you tie it around it or pin it on? Thank you for the tutorial!

    1. 5.1

      Hi Lauren,
      I hot glued it to the elastic and then put a small piece of felt over to sandwich the elastic between the bow and the felt. Thanks for stopping by!
      happy crafting,
      Linda

  4. 6

    So gorgeous….although how can you focus on the bow with that adorable face :-)

  5. 7
    Mary Herold

    I would add a piece of lace or sheer ribbon to the bow before I knot it. Or pink a contrasting strip and add it to the bow.

  6. 8
    Mary Ellen

    Love the bows! How did u attach them to the headband? Thanks for the tutorial!

    1. 8.1

      I hot glued them to the elastic and then hot glued a small piece of felt to the other side of the elastic. So that elastic was sandwiched between the bow and the felt. Thanks for stopping by, Mary Ellen!

  7. 9
    Mikhaila

    Hi, I love bows in general and usually make mine free hand. However, I really love how this bow has edges that are rounded and the fact that it is tied retro style! This is probably a stupid question, but I couldn’t find a seam allowance in this post or on the printed pattern. From the pictures it looks about 1/4″. Or is it 1/2″ trimmed down to 1/4″ or 1/8″? I was also wondering if you think that this bow could go any smaller for maybe a 2″ bow? (being resized in Microsoft) I want to use it as an accent on a dress. Thanks for your help.

    1. 9.1

      Hi Mikhaila,
      I stitched close to the edge and so the seam allowance was probably about 1/8-1/4″. You should be able to resize the bow as needed for more sizes :)
      thanks,
      Linda

  8. 10
    Kara

    Hi there! love these :] what do you mean by step 3 ?! Thanks!

  9. 11
    Ana

    What us the reason for the 1/4 cuts?

  10. 13
    Laura

    Once I saw these I knew I had to try making them. I started with one and it turned out great so I made four more after that. I made the 3 inch bows first but will probably make the four inch bows sometime soon. Thanks for sharing your pattern!

  11. 14
    Brenda Kirkus

    You baby girl is a baby doll! She needs to be in baby photo shoots! Seriously, those big eyes and her perfect little nose along with that precious mouth. She’s perfect!

  12. Pingback: Craftaholics Anonymous® | Hairbow Supplies Etc Giveaway!

  13. 15

    Love these! They’re so adorable :) Had to share on my fb page! Thank you for sharing them ;)

  14. 16
    Georgia Duncan

    Love your creativeness!!

  15. 17
    Jennifer

    These are absolutely adorable, and so is your little one! I have a baby girl and am always looking for easy sewing projects to accessorize her cuteness :) I got a bundle of fat eighths at Joann so that I had about ten different fabrics to make several of these without spending much (so far I’ve only made one but it came out great)! Do you mind sharing where you got the lace elastic for the headbands? I was trying to find it on a roll so I can make sure they fit her little head instead of the pre-made headbands. Thanks!!

    1. 17.1

      I got it at the Ribbon Retreat :) Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer! Enjoy your sweet baby girl!

      1. Jennifer

        Thank you so much!

  16. 18

    Soooo cute! I love this! Thanks for sharing. :)

  17. 19
    Heather

    So completely cute! My “little girl” is 13 now, but I have a tiny dog that needs a few of these!

  18. 20
    Nellie H.

    Super cute! Thank you for sharing the template and ‘how to’ steps. Now my almost 2 year old will have some fashionable and unique hair accessories :)

    1. 20.1

      Glad you enjoyed the tutorial! Thanks for stopping by, Nellie!

  19. 21
    Carolina

    Hello, What is the reason for the 1/4 cuts?

    Thanks

    1. 21.1

      So that when you turn it right side out, the fabric will curve nicely. If you don’t, it will look funky.

      1. carolina

        Thank you :)

  20. 23
    Kelly

    Hi, great bow and tutorial. what stitch do you use to close up the gap. thanks

    1. 23.1

      I don’t know the name of the hand stitch I used, but I stitched so that you couldn’t see it from the outside.

  21. 24
    Andrea

    hello I love these bows and thanks for sharing Instructions. On step 3 cut 1/4 around the round parts of bow… Are you suppose to just make cuts going around ? Or cut/ trim along the seam? Thank you

    1. 24.1

      You make cuts going around the curve so that when you turn it right side out, it creates a nice curve on the right side of the fabric. Do not trim fabric to seam.

  22. 25
    JJenkins

    These are darling! Do you add felt on the back of just put hot glue to attach the elastic onto the bows? Thank you!

    1. 25.1

      I like to hot glue them directly onto the headband and then hot glue a small piece of felt over the spot so that its soft on their little heads. :)

  23. 26
    Laura

    What age range do you use the 3″ and 4″ size bows for?

    1. 26.1

      It depends on how big of a bow the mom likes :) But my preference, I’d use a 3″ bow until 6-9 months, then a 4″ after that. But small bows are cute on older babies and big bows are cute on tiny babies.

  24. 27

    That’s very cute! I am gonna make one for my little niece,thank you for sharing!

  25. 28
    Ana Ruth

    Hi. My name is Ana Ruth and I LOVE to sew and do all sorts of crafts! I also LOVE these bows! I have made a few and was wondering: “Is it okay to make and sell these?” I am only sixteen, so I’m still learning all the rules about making and selling other peoples things.

  26. 29
    Omolola

    Thanks for this piece. I’m going to try a couple of bands this week.?

  27. 30
    Beth S.

    Thank you so much for this! I tried it and it worked so well and it’s so quick.

    1. 30.1

      Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, Beth!