The back to school clock is ticking down, and while most of me is sad, part of me is also excited. My girls go to preschool a few days a week in the mornings so I can get some work done. My oldest will be starting her final year of preschool and can’t wait to show her teachers what she’s learned about letters!

It’s bittersweet sending them to school because even though I treasure the time with them, it is so incredibly hard to get anything done with them home. And…their bickering and whining might just be driving me to the brink of insanity.

In addition to the opportunity to get work done, preschool does a great reason to create cute back to school outfits. To match my girls sweet back to school shirts, I had to create super cute bows! I’d seen a few ideas floating around and decided to do my own take on it.  So today I’m sharing with you my very own Pencil Hairbow DIY – the perfect accessory for those back to school outfits. 

For mine, I chose the easiest of bow styles I could find. Bow-making is not an art I have yet mastered. It’s on my long list of to-dos, but pretty far down there, so for now, I stuck with what I know. A very basic cheer bow.

Craftiness Level (0-10): 5

Time Investment:15 minutes (not including design time)

Materials:

• Yellow Ribbon – 1.5 inches wide

• Vinyl (HTV – in tan, black, pink and silver glitter)

• flat iron

• baby sock

• small elastic band

• hot glue gun

• alligator clip

• Silhouette or other die-cut machine

• Silhouette Studio or other design software

• weeding tools

<em>For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from these links I may make a small commission at no cost to you. </em>

Step 1: Import your design & cut your pieces.

For this, I found a simple pencil SVG design on Etsy. I imported into my software and then adjusted the width to 1.5 inches. I played with the height to suit my taste and then ungrouped the image so I could cut each color. I also added my daughters name in a funky font (Allspice – purchased from What the Font), and made it 1.5 inches tall. I mirrored the design and welded my daughter’s name. I then cut the pieces and set them aside to make the bow.

Step 2: Make the bow.

The length of the ribbon you will need will depend on the size of the bow. For my oldest daughter, I used 24 inches, and for my youngest 20 inches. Be sure to seal the edges of the ribbon with a lighter after cutting. This will ensure they don’t fray.

You will first need to lay your ribbon out and form a cross at the bottom.

You will then need to carefully pull the material up, pinching it between your fingers. To hold it in place you will need to use a tiny rubber band, snipped apart, to tie around the bow. Please note – you can also sew the ribbon in place. It is probably preferable to sew the ribbon in place. But I have 2 small kids, so I look for ways to save time wherever I can.

Step 3: Add HTV

The heat press was way too big for this project, so I pulled out my flat iron. To apply the HTV, I simply applied the pieces one at a time and pressed. I used a baby sock on the back to make sure the vinyl didn’t bleed through. I forgot to use the teflon sheet for a few pieces but it still worked. Once the HTV was applied, I had to trim areas where it hung over and also where the tip of the pencil forms. I then ran a lighter lightly around the edges to seal it.

Step 4: Secure bow on the clip and add yellow band to middle.

Using hot glue secure your bow to the alligator clip (you can see I used an old bow – and didn’t have the patience to get the previous ribbon unstuck. This actually worked in my favor and helped secure the bow even better).

You will then need to cut a small strip of ribbon approximately .5 inches by 3inches. Be sure to seal the edges. You will then wrap it around the middle of your bow and glue it on the back.

There you have it! This Pencil Hairbow DIY project is super cute and oh-so-easy! I am going to buy some bow starch and position it better, but I wanted to get this post out to you before school began! Be sure to pin it for future reference and follow me on Pinterest for tons of other fun DIY projects!

Also, don’t forget to check out my back to school SVG round-up that includes links to tons of free back to school SVGs, including my own cute creations!