Covered Clips

Alright, here's the promised clip tutorial! I made this adorable clips to go with baby A's tutu for her birthday. 

What you'll need:

Hot glue gun (preferably low temp, the high temp one I had leaked constantly! It makes for neater projects with a low temp gun)

Single prong alligator clips (can be found in a lot of craft stores. Usually Hobby Lobby has them, Joannes doesn't always have them in).

Ribbon (grosgrain works well, I used whatever cute Halloween skull ribbon they had available)

Lighter

Scissors

You need to measure how much ribbon you'll need. I believe I used 4 1/2 inches for a partially covered clip, and 7 1/2 inches for a fully covered clip. Just wrap the ribbon along the clip where you'd glue it, then cut 2 strips the same length. 

Hit your ribbon ends with the lighter. Just a quick run through the flame should seal the ends.

Put a small drop of glue on the alligator clip like shown in the picture.

Stick your ribbon to the clip.

Add another strip of glue to the ribbon, a little over an inch. I like to do small segments at a time, that way your glue is still really hot and will dry flat. If your glue cools too much, it'll stick without a problem, but it'll dry really thick and your ribbon won't lay flat.

Stick that portion of the ribbon to the clip, and then do the last little part.

For the bow, measure your ribbon. It really depends on how large you want your bow as to how long the ribbon should be. Make sure you cut two pieces of ribbon the same length, you don't want your bows to be different sizes!

Glue your ribbon ends together to make a circle. Glue it down together in the middle to make a figure 8.

Glue your figure 8 to the covered clip. Take a second piece of ribbon, about 1 1/2 -2 centimeters long, and glue that down sideways in the middle of the figure 8.

Wrap it around the inside of the clip and glue it in place.

If you want to add a no-slip grip, it's easy! I've seen people take the foam mats that you use for shelf liners and cut them to size. I like to use plain 'ol hot glue.

Put a strip of hot glue on your alligator clip, I usually just ooze it through the opening. Keep the clip open until it's dried, about a minute.

You're done!