Have you ever wondered how dancers get those perfect bows in their hair? The ones that have two perfect loops and tails that are just the right length?
Let me tell you a secret: they make a ribbon hair bow that looks like they’ve just tied it but really they haven’t!
We have another Physie interclub for my girl this weekend and we’ve decided we need a hair bow to match her leotard so I picked up some 1.5″ satin ribbon in this gorgeous teal shade. The rules for our Physie code – APDA – are very clear that we can only use satin or grosgrain ribbon and I love the shine of satin ribbon under the stage lights.
Rather than fiddle with tying the bow on the day, I decided to get our bow all ready last night. I went back to a great tutorial on Think Bowtique to make a nice even bow with tails. Find that tutorial here. Basically, you use two pieces of ribbon, one to create the loops and the other to create the tails. Then I added an extra piece of ribbon – 7/8″ wide – over the centre of the bow to cover the stitching.
Finally, I attached a hairpin – this type of pin is sometimes called a bun pin or invisible hold hairpin – to the back of the bow so that we can just slide it into her hair. She will have a low wide roll of hair at the base of her head – very elegant – and I have found this type of hairpin is much better to insert in the bun donut that our usual bobby pins.
Want to know how to do a hair bun with a bun donut? Physie 101 has just shared a tutorial this morning so check that out for step-by-step photos for creating a really neat bun for your dance girl.
Here’s the bow in my Physie girl’s hair. It looked fabulous and we added a couple of pins to hold the loops flat.
UPDATE: As our Physie season continued, we found our bow was not always staying put with just a hair pin so I’ve stitched a more secure clip to the back of the bow like this one: Double Prong Alligator Clips
Also here’s a better shot of her hairstyle. It is a tight sleek version of this twist bun tutorial on Hair Romance with a donut hidden in the bun to give it fullness.
