My secret Bow recipe...

 These bows aren't for sissies. 

They're big, proud, and oh so girly.  You can wear them on a headband, clip them onto a hat, use them as lapel pins, or clip them into your hair.  They're a little fiddly, but once you've done your first few, they get pretty quick.
You'll need a fair bit of ribbon, in colours that coordinate.

Cut 3 strips of ribbon at 15cm, 3 strips at 18cm, 4 strips at 21cm, and 4 at 24cm.

Using a cigarette lighter, gently wave the ends of the ribbons through the flame to seal them.  Make sure you don't burn the house down, fire isn't fun!

Then, taking your stack of longest ribbons, fold them all in half at once.  Push a threaded needle through the centre, and pull it through.

Lay the stack down on the table, and fan it out as pictured.

This is the "figure 8" look you're after. 

Taking the bottom most ribbon, curl it to the centre, and thread the needle up through the end of the ribbon.  Repeat all the way around the bow, making sure you keep your loops nice and even.
Once you're all the way around, give the centre a few stitches to secure it, cut the cotton off and repeat for all 4 stacks of ribbon.

Once that's done, you'll have 4 pretty flowers of ribbon.  Stack them all, in order of size, and stitch them through from top to bottom.  This takes a little bit of muscle, so be careful of your fingers.  Push the base of the needle on the table if you need to.  If you stitch a little off centre, it'll not only pull the bow tighter (which is a good thing), it'll also be a little bit easier to sew together.
Now that's the hard bit done!

Line an alligator clip with ribbon - glue a strip of ribbon along the inside of the clip, then over the top, and around the end.  This isn't altogether necessary, but it makes it look more professional, and helps to keep the clip from sliding out of fine hair. (I use Bostik MultiBond, or Tarzan's Grip, just make sure you cover your work surface with something to keep it glue free).
Once that's dry, run a bead of glue along the top of the clip, and press the big beautiful bow on top of it.
Find a gorgeous button or topper to finish off your bow, and use a dab of glue to stick that in place.
All done!  Hooray!!!

For the sample pictured, I added 2 extra layers of very fine ribbon, one cut at 24cm (4 strips), and one cut at 18cm (3 strips).  The grey that I chose looked really flat, so I used the silver thin ribbon to add a bit more pizazz and sparkle.  I'm sure Miss Three will love it to pieces!

x Rita