Ribbon Lined Alligator Clip Tutorial

RIBBON LINED ALLIGATOR CLIP TUTORIAL

For this tutorial you will need:

An alligator clip

ribbon

glue gun and glue sticks

Some sort of lighter

First off, lets talk about alligator clips. There are A LOT of different types of alligator clips. Most of them will work. However I have found one kind that does not work that well. If you look at the picture you will notice that the clip in front is not at tall as the clip in the back. This is a good thing. The clip in the back is too tall and when I have used these clips in the past they make my bow stand to high on one side and can be seen more easily.

When you are buying your alligator clips just be sure that they are not like the ones in the back and you should be fine.

To start off you are going to burn the end of your ribbon to keep it form fraying. Take you lighter and get your flame going. Now take your ribbon and just hold it close to the flame. You are not actually going to put it in the flame just hold it close enough for the end of the ribbon to start melting . You will be able to see the ribbon melt.

Now take your clip and turn it upside down and put a globe of glue at the end that does not open, as shown in the picture.

Place your pre-burn ribbon on the glue.

Now you will put a dot of glue on the inside of your clip like this..

and this...

Whatever you do don't get glue in the spring that is on the inside. If you do it will not open and close as easily.

Fold your ribbon over onto the glue. It should look like the picture above.

Now lay your clip flat and put a dot of glue again, at the end that does not open.

fold your ribbon onto the glue.

This next part will depend on what type of alligator clip you have. Mine has two legs, yours may not. Put a line of glue down the length of the clip, or in my case two lines.

And lay your ribbon on top of the glue. Pinch the handle to open the clip so that you can make sure that the mouth of the clip does not get glued together.

Now you will fold your ribbon inwards to measure where you need to cut. You want your ribbon to go as far into the mouth of the clip as it can.

Once you have measured it cut and burn the end

Then while holding the mouth of the clip open. Glue the top inside of the clip.

and fold you ribbon inwards on top of the glue.

Here is what your finished result should look like.

When attaching your clip to a bow you always want to glue the side that is not flat directly to the bow. This way the flat part of the clip is held against the babies head and provides the most comfort.

This side should be against the babies head. Enjoy your bow making!

Zipper Bow Part Four: Zipper, Fabric Flower Combination Bow

ZIPPER BOW PART FOUR:

ZIPPER, FABRIC FLOWER COMBINATION BOW

Remember zipper bows are cute on adults too!

For this tutorial you will need:

Zipper (I used a 7 inch zipper for this one)

one fabric flower (Click Here to see tutorial)

needle and thread

glue gun and glue sticks

lace (optional)

center piece for bow

A ribbon lined alligator clip (click here for that tutorial)

Remember to zip your zipper up and cut off the large metal "stopper" at the opposite end. Then unzip your zipper so that the actual handle you hold on to comes off. Now you have two separate pieces. We will use both sides of the zipper for this tutorial.

If you read the previous tutorial on the Circle Zipper Bow and know how to make two smaller zipper bows skip to the end of this tutorial until you see the red Zipper, Fabric Flower Combination Bow.

Now for this bow you are going to do thread your needle and tie a knot at the end. Now you will do a running stitch down the length of your zipper.

Stay toward the outer edge so that you don't see the stitches once your bow is done. DO NOT tie it off once you get to the end!

Now that you did a running stitch the entire way down your zipper grab the end that you did not tie off. You will gently pull your thread and your zipper away from each other making it begin to curl up on the other end like this...

It should look like this when you are done...

Now you are going to take the opposite end that your were pulling and start shaping it into your flower. This should be the end of the zipper that curled up the most as a result of you pulling at the thread. When you make the very first circle like this....

you will then need to secure the end down with hot glue so that it does not move around. This will end up being the center of your bow so keep things nice and neat.

continue circling the zipper around its self and securing it down with small dots of glue. As you are shaping your zipper bow you may have to readjust the curls of the zipper to make them tighter.

Before you glue the very end down. you will need to tie off you thread and cut it off. Tie it off by intersting your pin into the very edge of the zipper, as shown in the picture. DON'T however pull it through all the way.Just pull it till there is a tiny loop (look at picture) and them pass your needle through that loop and pull all the way tight. Do this 2 or 3 times.

Once you have tied off you zipper. Glue the end down. I like to tuck it behind its self so that you can see the abrupt stop of the end of the zipper. Some people do like the end showing. It's

totally up to you!

Now that you have finished both of your small zipper bows you are going to get your fabric flower (CLICK HERE for tutuorial) and position them on top of a large piece of felt. Once you have them where you like them lift one edge of each flower and glue it down so that it stays in place. Once each flower is glued down you will cut your felt out. Make sure that the felt under your bow cannot be seen. Once you have done that you are going to make sure your flowers are really secure in the center where they all meet together. Once you have done this, trim up the felt on the back if it needs trimming.

Now you will pick out your center. Here is what I chose for mine.

Glue it on.

Lace adds a really cute touch to your bow. I found mine at a garage sale. It was a black bird cage veil. Here is Jaysa wearing it. It's really cute and I thought about making it into a hair piece for me and keeping the veil on it but realistically I would probably never wear it. I am a mom with two kids. I don't have anywhere to go that would required me to dress up that much. Sad but true. So I cut it up and used the lace.

I just cut a small piece off, bunched one end up and glued it down to the back of the bow. Now you will need to add an alligator clip to the back of your bow. Click here for that tutorial.

Easy Peasy and cute!

Zipper Bow Part Three: Circle Zipper Bow

ZIPPER BOW PART THREE:

CIRCLE ZIPPER BOW

Remember Zipper bows are cute on adults too!

For this tutorial you will need:

Zipper

needle and thread

glue gun and glue sticks

feather (optional)

center piece for bow

A ribbon lined alligator clip (Click here for that tutorial)

Remember to zip your zipper up and cut off the large metal "stopper" at the opposite end. Then unzip your zipper so that the actual handle you hold on to come off. Now you have two separate pieces! We will be using both sides of the zipper for this tutorial

Now for this bow you are going to do thread your needle and tie a knot at the end. After you do that you will do a running stitch down the length of your zipper.

Stay toward the outer edge so that you don't see the stitches once your bow is done. DO NOT tie it off once you get to the end!

Now that you did a running stitch the entire way down your zipper grab the end that you did not tie off. You will gently pull your thread and your zipper away from each other making it begin to curl up on the other end of your zipper like this...

It should look like this when you are done...

Now you are going to take the opposite end that your were pulling and start shaping it into your flower. This should be the end of the zipper that curled up the most as a result of you pulling at the thread. when you make the very first circle like this....

you will secure the end down with hot glue so that it does not move around. This will end up being the center of your bow so keep things nice and neat.

continue circling the zipper around its self and securing it down with small dots of glue. As you are shaping your zipper bow you may have to readjust the curls of the zipper to make them tighter.

You can do this using only one side of your zipper or you can use both. I used both so that my circle would be bigger. You will need to follow all previous steps to make your running stitch and make your zipper curl like the first. After you have done this you will add on the beginning of your second zipper where you ended your first zipper. Your second zipper will not need to be pulled as tight as your first

Before you glue down the very end you will need to tie off your thread and cut it off. Tie it off by inserting your pin into the very edge of the zipper, as shown in the picture. DON'T however, pull it through all the way. Just pull it till there is a tiny loop (look at picture below) and then pass your needle through that loop and pull it all the way tight. Do this 2 or 3 times.

Once you have tied off your zipper. Glue the end down. I like to tuck it behind its self so that you can't see the abrupt stop of the end of the zipper. Some people like the end showing. It's

totally up to you! Here is mine.

Now pick out your center. At first I choose this one but after I was done decided I didn't like it and pulled it off and glued on a different one.

Now for the feather. I had some cute ostrich feathers I picked up a garage sale and wanted to use them in this bow but when I went to look for them this is all I found.

A little disappointed and tired of looking I decided to work with what I had.

I cut right down the center vein of the feather. (be careful it was easy to get off track. You don't want to cut your actual feathers. You might also try ripping it once you make your first cut. After doing this I then cut off a small section and glued it to the back of my bow.

Here is my end result!

Now you will need to add your alligator clip to the back of your bow. Click here for that tutorial

Here is my end result again.

Zipper Bow Tutorial Part Two: Peacock Feather Zipper Bow

ZIPPER BOW TUTORIAL PART TWO:

PEACOCK FEATHER ZIPPER BOW

Remember zipper bows are cute on adults too!

For this tutorial who will follow all the directions for the previous White Flower Zipper Bow post EXCEPT instead of rolling the excess zipper to make the center of your flower you will cut it off. If you have already read these instructions and know how to do it scroll down until you see the green zipper bow.

For this tutorial you will need:

small circle of felt(no bigger than a quarter)

scissors

zipper (I like to use a longer zipper on these kinds of bows. It's possible with a shorter zipper but much harder)

Needle and thread

Glue gun and glue sticks

Lace (optional)

Peacock Feathers (or any other feather you like)

a center piece for you bow

Ribbon lined alligator clip (Click here for that tutorial)

Remember to zip your zipper up and cut off the large metal "stopper" at the opposite end. Then unzip your zipper so that the actual handle you hold on to come off. Now you have two separate pieces! We will use both sides of the zipper in this tutorial.

Start with your felt.

For this bow your circle shouldn't be bigger than a quater. In fact I actually cut mine down to about a dime size. Either one works.

Then you will take one end of your zipper and place it in the center of your felt. Put one stitch in it. In this picture I made my first needle insertion through the top and found that once I made a full stitch and came back through it got in the way of what I was doing. So I am going to suggest you make your first needle insertion through the bottom side of your felt. One full stitch means that you will go up and through from the bottom of your felt and then back through top to the bottom keeping your needle and thread out of your way. After securing your zipper to your felt. play around to see how many petals you can make with the length of your zipper. I usually try to make about five.

After you know how big you want your petals to be make your first petal loop and secure it down with a stitch.

Make your second petal straight across from the first and secure it down with a stitch.

Then you will make your 3rd, 4th, and 5th petals. Securing each down with a stitch. I have included picture so you can see how I did mine.

3rd petal

4th petal

and 5th petal.

Now you are going to tie off your thread to the back of your felt. If you know how to tie it off skip the next two pictures. If you don't keep reading

Put your needle through a small piece of felt and DON'T pull it all the way through.

stop when you have a small loop like this and pass your needle through that loop and pull it all the way tight. Do this 2 or 3 times to make sure it's secure.

Trim up the felt on the back side of your bow if you need to. You don't want to be able to see any of the felt when you are looking at the front of your flower.

Now turn it over.

Your petal should look like this.

Cute off the excess zipper.

Now we will start on your second petal layer

Continue all previous steps, making each petal and stitching it down until you have 5 petals EXCEPT this time you will want your petals to be just a tiny bit larger than your first row of petals you already made.

You will end up here. Cut off any excess zipper. Then put a glob of glue in the center of your 2nd layer of petals and place your first layer on top. TIP: when positioning my first layer on to my second layer I like to make sure none of my petals are directly laying of top of each other. This way the flower looks more full and like it has more petals.

Ok I am really sorry I didn't take as detailed pictures for this set of instructions but to be honest I don't think you need them. At this point you will have two layers of zipper petals with no center. Your next step is to pick out your center.

Whenever I need a center I go and grab my craft jars. In these jars, which of corse came from a garage sale, I keep all my buttons, old jewelry, broken necklaces and anything else I think would make a cute center for a hair piece.

Dig through your stuff and find a center piece you like! If it's a piece of old jewelry, for example, an old clip on earring or an old lady pin you will have to take wire cutters and cut off the back so that it will lay flat on your bow. Mine was a button that had some sort of fastner on the back of it, which I clipped off. After you find your center glue it on.

Now you can add lace if you want. The lace I used for this particular bow came from an old black bird cage veil I found at a garage sale. Here is a picture of it on Jaysa's head

When attaching lace I either cut a circle and simply glue it on the back (I usually make several layers) or I cut out a large piece in no particular shape. In fact, I usually pick up the lace with one hand so the lace is dangling and cut a piece a few inches below where I am holding it. This way my cut is totally random. Then I bunch it up bringing all loose ends to the center and glue them together. Sometimes its cute to leave some loose ends out! Totally your preference!

Now for the feathers. You can use any feathers you want, I used peacock feathers. You can place them in anyway you want to or use as many as you want just glue them to the back. Make sure they stick out far enough so that they can be seen. (you don't have to glue them smack dab in the center) After adding all the embellishments you want You will need to add an alligator clip to the back of your bow. Click here for that tutorial. After you have done this you are done and now have a cute zipper bow!

Remember, sometimes feathers can be expensive depending on the type. When your garage saleing keep an eye out for them!

Here is where my Peacock feathers came from!

Don't worry I had the same reaction! When my mom brought this to me I just looked at her like "what the heck is that?" Then she said she bought it so that I could take it apart and use the feathers. She bought the mask for .10 cents at a garage sale and since I am pretty sure I am not going to a mascarade ball any time soon I had no problem taking it apart. To be completely honest, I am not sure how expensive peacock feather are to buy in the store but I am sure it's more than .10 cents!