Make It and Love It

Free and Inspirational Do-It-Yourself Crafting/Sewing Tutorials

Wool Felt Hair Accessories for Baby

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I keep seeing Wool Felt used to make hair accessories.  I have used polyester felt for hair clips (like here) but never wool.  I wanted to try it out with hair accessories, so I ordered some colorful wool felt pieces to experiment with.  And I’m so glad I did.  It’s so nice and cozy, doesn’t seem to fray a fuzz up like the polyester felt and seems like the perfect choice for those little newborn heads.
So shortly before our little girl arrived, I made her a few hair lovelies.  Oh, because I love a little baby with a simple little bow or flower of some sort.  It just girly’s her right up.
This way, no one will mistake her for a him.
Because yeah, that happens often with these itty bitty newborns.
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So I created a few accessories that I can attach to a headband……..or just attach right to her head. 
(Some use ky jelly, others use karo syrup……….and some people use white school glue.  Just add a small dot of one of these to the back of the flower, place on head, and allow to dry.  Use a little water to dissolve any of the three to loosen up the flower when done, and remove.)
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The flowers and little bows sit so nice and pretty atop a newborn head.
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Something about it makes me smother this child with kisses.
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But if you’d rather place them on a headband, attach them to some super soft fold over elastic.
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Whatever you choose, your little lady will look incredibly sweet.
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Would you like to make some of your own wool felt accessories?
(These are great for any aged girl.  Each of these accessories shown can be placed on clips for thicker hair.)
First, here are the little flower cutouts that I drew and cut out to make my little accessories.  They are a little uneven and shaky in some spots……but all flowers are a little different, right? :)
(You are welcome to use these for your own personal use.  Not to be made and then sold for profit. Click on picture and then copy and save to your computer.  Open in a document and reduce your margins to zero.  Expand to 100% and print.)

**But, get creative and design more shapes and headband styles if you’d like.  And look around in stores or on little baby/girl heads as you walk around in public.  You may just get inspired.
As for supplies:
I bought some beautiful wool felt here.  They sell it in a nice variety of colors and is fantastic quality.  (You can use synthetic felt too……but wool felt holds up a lot better and is nice and soft.)
I bought the fold over elastic here.  What is fold over elastic? It’s a really soft elastic that is used for underwear and knitwear.  So it’s not like your normal elastic you buy at the fabric store.  In fact, I have never seen this stuff at the fabric store……but I could be wrong.  This shop offers the elastic in a nice variety of colors and works great on those soft and sensitive little heads.

**Update: I was informed that the shop where I purchased the elastic has sold out of what she had listed.  I imagine she will add more soon…….but until then, go check out the comment section of this post.  A link to another shop was shared where you can purchase similar elastic.

For this first flower, I used the shapes from row 1 of the pattern page.  I cut out one of each of the 3 shapes of flowers out of the wool felt.  And then I cut one of the leaf shape in a different color of wool felt.
Then I stacked the 3 flower shapes on top of each other.  Then I put the leaf shape on the bottom, allowing the tips of the leaves to poke out.  Lastly, I hand-stitched a little pearl to the center of the flower, making sure to stitch through all of the layers of felt…..securing it all in place.
For the next flower, I cut out 10 of the flower shape from row 2 of the pattern page.  I also cut an oval shape of felt to be able to sew the flowers to.  You can make this flower cluster more circular-shaped or make it oval like I did.
Then, begin attaching each flower to your felt backing, making a small X shape in a contrasting thread color.
Continue adding your little flower shapes…
……..until you have covered your felt backing piece.
Then cut out 4 of the leaf shape from row 2 on the pattern page.
Attach the leaves to the back of the felt backing piece with your needle and thread……….
…………..and then cut out another piece of felt to cover up the back.  Either use hot glue to seal it all together or make a few stitches with your needle and thread to secure it in place.
For the last flower, I cut out 4 of the flower shape from row 3 from the pattern page above. And then I cut out 1 circle and 2 leaf shapes from the shapes from row 3 of the pattern page.
First, I attached the two leaves to the front of the circle backing piece.
Then, one at a time, I folded each of the flower shapes in half, then in half again…
……then positioned each folded piece in one quarter of the circular backing piece.
Continue adding each folded flower piece to the circular backing piece…..covering up the base of the leaves.  Keep your stitches really close to the center, making sure to go through the folded layers, keeping the flowers folded a bit.
After letting go of the folded flowers, they should pop right up, creating a nice full flower.
And last, the little wool felt bow.  I cut narrow strips of the felt…
The sizing of this bow varies.  It just depends on how big/small/narrow/wide you’d like your little bow.

I first folded the longer strip into a flat cirlce and then placed another strip (with pointy ends) behind it.  Then I hand-stitched those layers together.

Then I grabbed the last strip and attached one end to the back center of the bow….
Then wrapped it around the front……and then to the back and then hand-stitched the other end securely to the back as well.
If you wrap the center piece semi-tight, it will help the center pucker just a bit.
Then attach your flowers to clips or plastic headbands………..or to some super soft fold over elastic (like I explained above).  If using elastic as your headband, just hand-stitch the flowers on with a needle and thread.  Otherwise, I would use hot glue to attach to a plastic headband or metal clip.
And enjoy!
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Comments

  1. I love this. I'm having a little boy in August otherwise I would order these supplies right now! So cute and simple.

  2. These are all so adorable! I can't wait to make some for babies being born around me. :)

  3. I love the little white with yellow stitches so cute! I'm secretly hoping my besties baby is a girl so I can bow her out! I already bow out my own girls as much as they'll let me!

  5. I'm with Natausha… if I wasn't (over)due with a boy right now, I would scramble to make a few of these! Normally I don't love bows on little girls – the size and shape of these are perfect, though!

  7. Also, double sided tape! Perfect for attaching bows to baby girls with little to no hair :) I'm not sure which works best though.

  8. I love this idea…so cute! I am featuring your project on my Fabulous Finds Friday!

    Alisa
    sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com

  9. so precious!! The flowers are adorable, but the little felt bows look so sweet!! I love them all.

  11. I went to find the elastic and the shop didn't have any listed. Are they out or is it the wrong shop?

  12. oh I love these!!! I need something new for my daughter!!! I can't wait to make some! I think that I am so going to make some for my niece too!!

  13. I love felts and these are so pretty and cute. Thanks for sharing, I definitely would like to make this for my niece's baby.

  15. These are precious!! I used a glue stick when my daughter was an infant! Now I have a grand daughter and some felt and thread AND a glue stick! I am ready to go! Thanks for the instructions!

  16. I went to the shop to find the fold over elastic and could not find it could you email me with the link ? jahpack@yahoo.com. oh thank you for this post. I have been trying to make these and love the technique you have used.

  17. these are so cute! they look just like lou and lou on etsy! you should check her out if you haven't she's amazing.

  21. The flowers and headbands are cute as can be, but the baby is beautiful! Congrats!

  22. I love all the links to the shops where you can purchase similar flowers……haha, all are very similar. How funny that many people get an image in their mind and create similar things. BUt I love the links that are shared for those of you who don't want to make them (or have the time!). Oh, and those in the shops linked in comments are much more perfect than mine. So go there and check theirs out…..and buy them up while you're there! ;)

    Also, it looks like the listings of elastic that I linked to were all purchased. The shop owner will need to add more listings before more can be purchased. I contacted her to let her know…..but I'm not sure how soon more will be added. So thanks for the link "Griffeth family"…… this shop seems to have the same stuff: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElasticByTheYard?ref=top_trail

    So good luck, and keep linking up similar shops. It's always nice to see what others are making! :)

    Ashley

  23. @Griffeth Family – the elastic multipack at that etsy shop is for the skinny elastic (1/8" wide), not the wider elastic showed in this blog post.

  24. Well, we are planning to TTC in June and we've been hoping for a boy as we already have 2 girls, but these OMG, these are making me want another little girl.

  25. So cute! Do you use regular elmer's or school glue? It seems like the latter would come off more easily.

  26. I used Elmer's too. My MIL and some of my friends thought I was cRaZY! But it just works soo good! Don't have any babies now, guess I'll just have to make some for myself, they are just too cute not to make.

  27. Your baby girl is SO precious! Glad you used her as your model. I hope you continue to do so. So sweet!

  29. I have ordered from this lady on ebay:

    http://shop.ebay.com/hobovian/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

    her FOE is the same as Ashley pictured and she has the most colors and the best price I have found. My baby is over a year and she's still wearing headbands made out of this elastic, it's so soft and stretchy that she forgets it's there. I made little loops on mine and made the flowers into hairclips so I can just clip them onto the headbands now, but clip them into her hair as soon as she grows some!

  31. Oh. My. Goodness!!! Can I just say how much I love you right now? These are PRECIOUS!!! She is so lucky to have you for a mom. Thank you SO much for taking the time to share this with us, especially since you are most likely in zombie mode right now. ;) You ROCK!!!

  32. Julianne – I have the school glue but I think I used regular with my little girl when she was a baby, 4 years ago. But I can't remember…..so I would say go with the school glue.

  33. And haha, you're welcome Natalie! Luckily I made these before she was born. So no biggee! :)

  34. I have a question. I am making a quiet book for my little kiddo. The pattern mostly calls for felt. Do you think I should use the wool felt or the regular felt (I think polyester). Any suggestions? I haven't used much felt before. Thanks! My email:
    shellbell71@gmail.com

  35. I love these. And, I actually use glue too but a glue stick…easy to throw in the purse and works great!

  36. I had a baby girl a few weeks before you and I've been working on wool felt flowers all week. I've always used elmers glue with little ribbons before and hadn't thought of using it with the wool felt, too (but my baby has enough hair to just clip it in.) Some of my favorites that I've made are like these: http://www.etsy.com/listing/50949681/set-of-3-baby-flower-wool-felt-hair-clip and
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/69512913/easter-morning-set-of-4-baby-snap-clips

  37. I think that you are just Fabulous!! 3 beautiful Children, 1 a newborn and yet you can still share all you beautiful work with us. Your blog helps me with some many ideas and i just wanted to say another fantastic job and a big THANKS!!

  38. That is just adorable! I'll definitely try this if I have a girl (find out soon!) I was a bald baby for a long time, so I'm thinking my child will be too!

  39. Such cute flowers!

    Here's a tip I have LOVED for my baby girl… when there's just barely enough hair for a little pony tail on top, use the little orthodontic rubber bands (used to connect the top teeth to bottom teeth). They are tiny and work perfectly on those wispy bits of hair. A local orthodontist gave me a small package for free and it has lasted me over a year so far!

  40. Sooo adorable!! I want to make them right now! But I don't have any little girls of my own. Need to find a friend to gift them too!

  42. Thanks for the tutorial- I am excited to make some!! I recently bought elastic from Bitsy Bands- they used to be on Etsy but now have their own site. They have skinny or thick elastic. You can even purchase the headbands pre-made.

  46. These are so cute and I have never seen them before, which is odd because I live in a crazy babies craft town! So cute!! BTW, I use elmers glue with my daughter, too. It's easiest to work with and stays on longer than the other stuff.

  47. Oh, and I know the dollar store's around here (in Idaho) carry those cute crochet looking headbands at 4for a dollar. They are super cute with hair bows. Also, many fabric stores carry elastic lace sold by the yard and that works terrific for headbands.

  48. These are very cute Ashley and your little miss is so adorable. Love her little rolls. :o)

  49. I fell in love with some like this on etsy but haven't been able to bite the bullet and pay for them. Now I can make some!

    And your little girl is such a cute little chubber. It took my daughter 6 months to get to 12 pounds, it's so fun to see the chub on your sweet baby.

  50. Ashley how adorable! You never cease to amaze me with your new ideas and projects!

    Come and enter my luscious Bath & Body Giveaway!!

    Xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

  51. i love these headbands!! i want to make some for a friend who is having a little girl but i dont know how big to make the headband for a newborn? if you can email me what you did or post it here in the comments that would be awesome! thanks so much!!
    wetzel_pretzel3@hotmail.com

  53. I have two questions for you. First how many inches long was the elastic that you used for the headbands? I wanted to make some for a gift and don't know what size to make. Second, did you buy the mini pack of felt with all of the colors? If so were the sheets large enough or do you wish that you would have gone larger?

  54. I absolutely love this! I'm having a little girl in July and I've already started practicing and making bows for her! :) Can't wait to try these! :)

  55. How did you get the little flowers to stick to your babys head?? lol.. i would ytotally make these though.. i think i will after my next trip to joanns

  56. Before I even comment on the genius of your flowers, I just have to say that your daughter is so absolutely precious and thank you for sharing pictures of her! Now…your flowers are adorable and using a dot of glue to keep it in place–where was that tip when my daughter was bald for almost 2 1/2 years??? ;)

  57. I love these. I have two little girls I have to make them for. Thank you for sharing!

  58. I have a friend that uses toothpaste to stick bows to her daughter's adorable baby head :)

  59. Thank you so much for linking to my felt shop! I had no idea I would be getting so much attention on Friday and it was a great surprise!

  60. I'm so excited to try this! Cricket is going to look adorable with all her new hair pretties. :)

  61. the flowers are pretty but did i really read that someone here suggests sticking a bow to a baby with double-sided tape…and then a glue stick ? eek.

    mind you, such information will no doubt be useful in the writing of the Novel…where curious stories always come in handy!!

  62. With my first girl I asked the nurses what they used to stick to bows on with and they told me KY Jelly.
    I have used it on all 3 girls. It only takes a small dot to stick a bow on and easily comes off with water.

  63. Scrapbooking glue dots work great for sticking things to bald babies. Used them for both of my girls… Just peel them off gently. Never had any problems with them pulling out hair and it's quick, easy, and no mess!

  64. When working with felt I've found it handy to trace my shapes onto freezer paper, then iron the freezer paper to the felt. It makes it soo much easier to cut out and then the freezer paper just peels off

  65. I don't know if you read all of your comments, but i'm needing some assistance with something: I have a little boy, but we are now expecting a little girl. I want to use some of his old clothes and just make them girly. Have you done this, and if so, would you mind showing some of your fabulous ideas? thanks. ~Ashley

  66. These are so perfect!! I'm a NICU nurse and these would be perfect for my preemie babies' fragile skin. LOVE!!!

  67. Love Love Love these! So many people use those massive flowers and thick headbands on their babies, but then you can't see how cute the baby is! These are perfect. If my little girl wasn't growing up so fast I'd make some in a jiffy!

  68. What color of green did you use for the leaves? It looks like either tea green or olive, but I wanted to check before I bought some. These are the cutest headbands! I bought some elastic several weeks ago to make simple headbands, but now I'm going to add the flowers to make them extra cute. Thanks SO much for this great tutorial!

  69. Why are you so talented? Can I clone you to be me? And can I also have your baby? My twin girls are 15 months now and all boogery and poopy stinky.

  70. Hi there @ Ashley – I have the same predicament. I have 3 boys and now have twin girls and my wallet… well, it's empty.

    I want to be able to repurpose my boys clothes into girls. Here's what I'm thinking: dark navy pants – add bright colored ruffles along the hems, hotfix some bling on the pocket area.
    OR – attach applique of bright colours of flowers or monogram or birdie or bunny shape.
    For knit shirts – use dark colours and alternate with light colours and bright colours and make tiered or layered skirt.
    etc. :)
    now if only i had any time at all to do all that.

  74. Great tutorial! And I'm so glad to see you mentioned how wonderful wool felt is to work with : )

    I've got 96 colors of 100% merino wool felt available in my Etsy shop – just in case you're looking for a resource!

    http://www.feltonthefly.etsy.com

    Janet

  76. How did you secure the elastic so that it looked nice and stayed put? Did you machine sew it, or hand sew it, or what? Is there a raw edge where they are pieced together or were you able to make it meld with the rest of the elastic? I would love to know how you did it!

  77. I just hand stitched it closed nice and securely. The elastic that I used is really soft so there were no rough edges. If you are worried about a rough edge, attach a circle piece of felt under the elastic so that's the only thing that touches the head. Good luck! :)

  78. HI! Quick question – I went to the wool felt page you listed where you got your felt and i'm wondering if the small sample pack would give me enough of each color to create the bows you created. She said they are a 4"x4" square – is that enough or do I need a bigger piece? Thanks so much!

  79. OMG. I just LOVE all those flowers. I am going to try them all!! Thanks for sharing!

  80. I have a 6 week old little girl, and I'm just now catching up on the blogs I follow on my iPad during night feedings. When I saw these adorable felt flowers, I knew I had to make them to match every outfit! I just received all of the materials in the mail yesterday and have made three this morning. Thank you for such a great idea and tutorial!

  81. Hey Jenn, the 4×4 squares were enough to make about 2 flowers from each square….so it's not a ton but I just really wanted the variety for this projects plus other future ones.

    Hope that helps!
    Ashley

  83. Hey,
    Thanks for sharing, I absolutely love these!!! i am your newest follower! I can wait to see what else you have in store!
    Elisabeth @ BargainBlondie.blogspot.com

  84. Hey Jen, I just attached the flowers to the headband by hand stitching with thread and a needle. Sorry for not mentioning that. I'll go and add that. Thanks!

    Ashley

  86. Quick Question Ashley – I just got some of the elastic you recommended to make some headbands but as I was looking through your instructions I didn't see measurements anywhere for how long you cut the elastic to make the headband. Can you let me know how long of a piece of elastic you used to make the headband? Thanks!!

  87. Carrie…..hmmm, I'm not sure of the exact color it was because I got the multi pack.

    Jennifer…..it depends on the size head you're making it for but for my newborn (who may have a large head, I'm not sure) I cut a piece that was 14.5 inches and then overlapped it a 1/2 inch and then hand stitched it together. This makes the headband 14 inches around. It fits her head great, that is 15 inches around where the headband goes.

  88. I found this type of elastic for my headbands at my home away from home, aka Joann's. ;)

  89. Hi Ashley- what size buttons did you use for the flower clip? Is there somewhere specific you buy them? I love these clips and will attempt creating them for my daughter! Thanks:)

  90. Just curious- on the flowers without the headband… how are you keeping them on your baby’s head? I love the look- but can’t figure out how to keep it in place!

    • As explained in the tutorial (near the top……..it snuck right past you!!), you can use ky jelly, karo syrup, or white school glue. Just place a small dot on the back, let dry, and you’re good to go. Just use a bit of water to loosen it up at the end of the day…….easy as that.

      Good luck!
      Ashley

      • Thanks. Sorry- you were right, it did sneak right past me! Never would have thought of the things you mentioned to keep it in place!

  91. Wow, thanks so much – this simplifies a lot (and saves me a lot of money since headbands like these are going for 15-30$ each on etsy!). I’ll check the fabric stores first and then try the shops you recommended – my little girl is due in a week and it’d be nice to have some cute accessories for her!

    • Gosh, it depends on the girl. My baby is sleeping right now but I think she’s about 15 inches around where her headbands go. So my elastic is a bit shorter than that so that it can stretch. But look up headbands on etsy.com and look to see some common sizing charts. That may help!

      Ashley

  93. This is just a thought, since I don’t have a little baby girl to make adorable little flowers for. So my daughter has flowers in her room and I just thought that if I made a bunch of these in different shapes and colors and then tacked them onto a little pillow it might look cute on her bed.

    Yay?……Nay?

  94. Ok so I cant figure this out, everytime I try and open the saved print out it has all these wierd letters and symbols instead of the pic to resize it? Do you know what I am doing wrong?

  96. when my girl was a baby in 1975…yes 1975 we just made bows out of narrow ribbon whish we had sweet flowers like your then! . Anyway just wanted to tell you that I used false eylash adhesive.

  100. hi ashley..you’ve done a super awesome job!i really adore them so much!by the way where to find the super soft fold over elastic that is colorful like you hev?do you supply them?i would love to buy some for my craft project..thanks!


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