felt hair clip tutorial

I have tried many, many different kinds of hair clips for Natalie's hair.  They are too big, too small, or they annoy her and she rips it out after about 10 minutes.  GRRR!  The clips that work the best and that she keeps in for the longest and seem to be the most comfortable are snap clips.  You can buy some cute colorful ones but they are usually babyish and I wanted something cuter.  She has a few that I bought from SunDrop Clips that stay well in her hair and are adorable. I was going to order her some more but then decided I would try to make my own.  They are really fun to make and can be customized in all sorts of ways.  The possibilities are endless.

I used a wool blend felt that I purchased from this etsy store.  There are many store on etsy that sell 100% wool like here and here.  The blend I use doesn't pill or stretch and is a nice alternative to the 100% wool, which can be pricey.  You do not want to use the polyester felt found at craft supply stores.  It will pill and stretch and you won't be happy with your finished product.

I traced around my snap clip (I used Goody's) and then added about and 1/8" seam allowance.

Then cut 2 pieces of felt. On one piece mark 2 dots and clip a between the dots.  Then slid the back of the clip into the slit.  This will be your bottom piece.  Lay it aside for now.

Next I decided how I wanted to embellish the top piece.  I cut my pieces out of felt and then sewed them to my top piece of felt. I used a simple straight stitch to attach the flower and a french knot to attach the flowers center.

Then I placed my top and bottom pieces together and sewed the two pieces together with a straight stitch.  A blanket stitch would also work and be just as cute.

Adorable!

Here are some of the other ones that I made her. I think the peach layered flower with the bead center is my favorite.  For the brown one, I embroidered a flower design onto the top piece and then sewed the top and bottom together.