Bravo Marimekko, Please Take A “Bow”

I just love creating resourceful sewing projects out of spare pieces of Marimekko Fabric. This week I decided to take a small rectangular piece of Marimekko’s green Afrikan Kuningatar fabric and create an adorable hair bow. As you can see this project is easy, quick and turns a small almost unusable piece of fabric into a mod-print hair accessory. Check out AlwaysMod to see the fabric I used or to pick another vibrant Marimekko fabric. Happy sewing!

Materials:

- Marimekko Fabric: 2-1/2” Wide X 11-1/2” Long

- Thread (color your choice)

- Yarn or Piece of Marimekko Fabric: 3/4” wide

- Ribbon: 3/4” Wide

- One metal hair clip (I used Conair Hair Clips for Rollers, these can be found at most drug stores or Target)

- Hot Glue Gun (with hot glue)

- Iron

Directions:

Step 1: Making the Bow. Cut Marimekko a 2-1/2” w x 11-1/2”L piece of fabric then press flat.

Cutting the Marimekko Fabric

Step 2: Sew the length-side edge, wrong sides together (this can be done by hand or by sewing machine). Press flat, with the seam going down the middle. Trim the excess seam selvage.

Sew the length-side edge together

Press the seam down the center

Step 3: Sew the width-side edge, right sides together. Trim close to the seam. Press flat. Note: the seam should be going vertically down the middle.

Fold fabric in half

Sew width-sides together

Step 4: Turn the fabric inside out and fold in half (with the seam in the middle). Pinch the bow. With a dab of hot glue at the back (the back is the side with the seam), place one end of your yarn and wrap it until you’ve created a band around the center. Secure it by tying a knot at the back, the adding another dap of hot glue.

Pinch the bow

Tie yarn around the center of the bow

Step 5: Attaching the clip. Put a dab of hot glue on the wrong side of the ribbon, then press open the metal clip and with the glue-side facing down attach the ribbon to the clip. Once you’ve done this, put another dab of glue on the backside of the bow and glue the metal clip to the bow. Hold together for 15 seconds to make sure the two are secured and voila, you’ve got a Marimekko Hair Bow.

Glue ribbon to clip, then glue the clip to the back of the bow

The Marimekko Bow is complete!

Note: the green bow was sewn by machine and the blue bow was sewn by hand. This bow takes about 15 minutes to create, 25 minutes if you are sewing by hand.

Variations:

- Change the size of the bow. If you have a bigger piece of fabric make a larger bow or vice versa.

- Change the center. For example, when sewing the Marimekko Blue Mini Unikko bow I used a piece of blue Unikko fabric in the center instead of yarn. Or, try using a bright red piece of yarn in the center to add a pop of color.

- It doesn’t have to be a hair bow. Do you wear more broaches? Attach a safety pin instead of a metal hair clip and wear this bow on your lapel.

Marimekko Bow made from Blue Mini Unikko fabric

Last updated by Leu on August 22, 2012.