DIY Leather Hair Bows

Learn how to make these adorable DIY black and brown leather hair bows with simple steps and supplies!

I’m seeing hair bows everywhere, and I’ve been pretty surprised by their popularity. The last time I rocked a hair bow was in the 6th grade when my teacher started calling me ‘Baby’ as a nickname. I was officially over anything considered immature, and I placed hair bows firmly in that category.

But looking back through time, many adult women have worn hair bows. And with the resurgence, I thought I’d rock some made of leather, which seems chic to me. So I did a quick search, and real leather hair bows are freaking expensive! Like $50 to $80 expensive. Um, heck no. So, instead, I rocked two $4 pieces of leather to knock out some leather hair bows perfectly suited to a more mature wearer.

DIY Leather Hair Bows

My hair is really short right now, but I envision the smaller ones would be cute if I pulled back hair to the side of the larger one over a ponytail or under a big bun. I’m sure you can find many ways to wear these, and be sure to give any suggestions in the comments!

Supplies Needed to Make Leather Hair Bows

• Soft and flexible leather or faux leather pieces (I used trim-sized pieces)
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Hair clips

How to Make Leather Hair Bows

Cut a strip of leather into a strip the width you would like your bow to be and as long as needed to create the size of bow you’re going after. You can play with your larger piece to estimate where to cut.

Trim down the sides in sloping angles, as seen above.

Using hot glue, pin down the edges of the leather to the wrong side. You don’t need much; just a little dab will do.

Pinch the leather together after the glue has cooled to form your bow.

Add a dab of hot glue to the backside and glue on a thin strip, wrapping around and gluing again to the back to hold tight. Trim the excess.

This is a good way to use scrap leather, so wait until the end to cut your strips. You may have pieces that require only a slight modification to work!

Glue your bow onto the hair clip of your choice. My smaller bows are on alligator clips, and the larger ones are on traditional 100 mm clips.

My bigger, black bow used up pretty much my entire piece of trim leather. I was able to get two out of the smaller ones quickly. If you’re worried about wasting leather, practice using scrap fabric to get your dimensions down just right!

Now I know that side by side, they look pretty similar, but the black bow is much, much larger. I envision this one looking lovely with a bun or top knot!

I spent about $8 on leather and made three bows. Look for value-priced grab bags in the leather crafting section to make even more for even less!

Allison

A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.