2 Pull-Backs with Ribbon Wraps (Ribbon PT Style #3)

This one is very similar to the first ribbon pull-through post, except that the ribbon pull-through gets split between two pull-backs instead of one.  Part the hair as shown below, tying each section off with an elastic:

Do a ribbon pull-through with the front section.  (In the picture below, it looks like I did this off-center, but I think her head was just tilted to the side.  The pull-through was more or less in the center!)  Then divide the hair from the pull-through in half.  Wrap one piece of ribbon around one half, as shown below. 

Keep wrapping, then combine that hair with one pull-back, ribbon and all, in another elastic on top of the first.  Do the same for the other side.  Trim the ribbon ends so they are short enough not to poke out of the pull-backs, but long enough such that you're sure they won't slip out of the elastics.  I probably left about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch on each.  You want them to be hidden.  Now take new ribbons, and attach one to each pull-back, just like you would for a ribbon pull-through (only don't pull them through!).  

 Wrap around the elastics and tie bows.  You're all set! 

Have a great day! 

The Ribbon Wrap (Ribbon Pull-Through Style #1)

Lately, I've been loving pull-throughs more and more.  They lie flat, they angle the hair in the direction you want it to go, they're easy, and they've got a little more style to them than a simple step pony.  And they look good on the youngest of little ones, tweens, teens, and adult women!  And almost any length of hair!  All right, enough of my love affair with pull-throughs.  :)  That being said, I wanted to find a way to securely attach ribbon to a pull-through... So I did!  I'm sure many people have done this before and have used variations of it; I was just happy that this works, and looks cute, so I wanted to share it.  I basically used the same method that I discussed in Three Little Ribbon Braids, with a slight variation.  And to celebrate, I've created five posts that use the ribbon pull-through method that I discuss below, and I will be posting them for the next five posts (this one included).  I think they have all turned out beautifully, and I'm excited to share... It's hard not to love anything with ribbon! 

How to Do a Ribbon Pull-Through
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Be forewarned:  This is in excruciating detail, which you may not need!  If you already have a method that works for you, do it!  Feel free to skip to the style at the bottom.  But if you'd like specific instructions, read on...

You'll need:  a rat-tail comb or other parting device :) , a Topsy Tail, 1/4" satin ribbon, scissors to cut the ribbon, and a couple of little elastics.  

Start with slightly damp hair.  Part out the section you'll be pulling through and tie it off LOOSELY with an elastic.  This is the main difference with a ribbon pull-through.  Just leave a little more room between the elastic and the head than you would for a regular pull-through. 

Cut a piece of ribbon (for the style in this post, cut it to about 3-4 times the length of hair you will pull back to the palm tree).  Grab a piece of the elastic and thread the ribbon through it to the halfway point of the ribbon (below).  

Wrap the two ends of the ribbon around the elastic, to hide it, in opposite directions:  around the back, then around the front, and finally tying them together in back (the underside).  When you're finished, it should look like this:

A nice clean look.  :)  You could stop there, or... continue with the pull-through.  Do a regular old pull-through now; just negotiate carefully so as not to snag or pull your daughter's hair.  It's bigger with the ribbon on, so requires a bit more finesse. 

Voila!  A ribbon pull-through!  (The ends of the ribbon are still there, loose and free; apparently they were just hidden behind the hair in the last picture above!)  Use this pull-through alone or read on for way #1 to use it in a hairstyle...

The Ribbon Wrap
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Start with a large box part on top of her head.  Part out a small section on the diagonal, as used in the pictures above, and do a ribbon pull-through.  Gather the rest of the hair from the box part into an elastic at the back corner opposite the ribbon pull-through.  Take the two ends of ribbon and wrap them around the piece of hair in opposite directions, making sure that the X's land on the top of the piece of hair.

Finally, secure the piece of hair, together with the ribbon ends, to the pull-back you created with the rest of the hair.

Wrap the ribbon ends around the elastics to hide them, as you did earlier for the pull-through, and tie a pretty bow.  All done!  Simple & sweet. 

The hair underneath was poofing a little, so I ended up adding a bobby pin to make it lie a little flatter...

Have a great day!  And watch for ribbon pull-through style #2...

Mini-Buns with Dutch Braid Accent

We took this style to dance class today (can you tell??).  Two tiny buns with a braid going into one. 

As (almost) always :) , start with a large box part on top of her head.  Then part out an arc at the front of her head: 

Do a Dutch braid (inside-out French braid), starting on the left (or whichever side you prefer), and braiding out as far as you can after using up the hair in the arc.  Secure with a temporary hair band. 

Then you're going to split the remaining hair into two little ponies.  I collected more hair in the one on the left, since the one on the right was going to have the hair from the braid combined into it, too.  To make this look less unbalanced, I used a diagonal part. 

Then turn the two little ponies into two little buns... Use whatever method you prefer (classic, messy, etc.).  I did classic buns, but they ended up looking pretty "messy" since her hair is so short.  I used about 4 bobby pins for each, and tried to have them overlap when possible for extra security.  Here's a close-up of the first mini-bun...

And the finished product, with cute bows to match her dance outfit...

Criss-Crossed Rope Braid Pull-Backs

Here's another style we used for dance class.  Nothing new; I've seen something similar to this on plenty of sites online.  I used what I've seen called "twist braids," "two-strand twists," and other names, but growing up, I learned them with the name "rope braids," from Klutz' Braids & Bows book, which is now out of print!  (Except Klutz taught the braid with three strands, which I have always since found cumbersome; why use three when two looks almost exactly the same and are WAAAAY faster?  Plus it is MUCH easier to do the French version with only two strands!  Anyone else have opinions on this?)  Anyway, here is the hairstyle...

Part off 6 square-like shapes on top of her head, and tie them off with elastics, like so...

(You can see one of our most effective methods of distraction during hair time.  :)  )  Beginning with one of the two front pieces, do a rope braid over to the piece kitty-cornered to it and secure it there.  If you don't know how to do a rope braid, here's how:  Divide the hair into two strands.  Twist both in the same direction, then lay them over each other again and again in the opposite direction.  (Would a video tutorial be helpful?) 

Then do the same thing on the opposite side.  Once these are both done, if your daughter's hair is long enough, you can do it again to get to the back sections.  Little Miss' hair was just barely not long enough, so we just rope-braided straight back to the last sections...

Finally, we finished the pull-backs off with a little ribbon.  Ribbon tends to slip off of elastics, so here is my trick to keep it in place...  Using my handy-dandy not-sharp craft needle, I thread the ribbon through the back of the pull-back, below the elastic:  

Then I wrap the ends around the elastic, in opposing directions once or twice to hide the elastic, and tie a bow in the front.  Ta da! 

And here we are watching the bigger girls after dance class...  :)  I realized after taking these photos that the ends of her hair were sticking out a bit on the side I shot on; I should have flat-ironed that part of her hair.  Oh, well!  

Happy hair-doing!  :)

Criss-Cross Step Ponies with Ribbon

Fall is here!  Which means, among other things, that Little Miss is back in dance class.  With her long hair, I used to challenge myself to see how many different ways I could do or accent a bun.  While the buns will (obviously) not translate well into short hair styles, some of the accents will!

For this style, start with a rectangle on top of her head.  Divide this into four equal square-ish shapes, like so...

Beginning with the front left square, remove the temporary hair band.  Part it into two equal parts.  Tie off the front one with an elastic, as shown below.  Then add the hair from the other part to it and tie that off with another elastic.  (I'm calling these 'step ponies' but I've also heard them called French pigtails and other names.)  See below (before I've added the second elastic):

Next, remove the temporary hair band from the back right corner (light pink in the above pic).  Divide this square into two as well, and cross the midline with the hair that's already in progress to add it to the front section of the two.  Then add all that hair into the back section, tying it all off with an elastic to make a palm tree. 

Do the same thing to the other side, crossing over the other side's hair in the middle. (This could all be done in inside-out French braids (aka "Dutch" braids or cornrows) as well.  Since Little Miss' hair is so short, step ponies tend to hold together more easily than braids!  You won't be able to tell when it's covered in ribbon unless you look closely.  But do whatever your preference is.)  It should look like this at this point: 

Now for the ribbon!  You can, of course, do this style without adding the ribbon.  It's cute on its own.  But if you like the look of the ribbon, read on...

You'll need two fairly long pieces of ribbon.  I used white 1/8"-wide polyester (satin-y) ribbon that I bought at a craft/fabric store for about $1.  I re-use the ribbon pieces until they're too short to use.  (I often trim them at the end; you'll see.)  You'll also need a craft needle.  You can also get these at craft/fabric stores.  They're great for hair because they're not sharp. 

You're going to stitch up and down one step pony with each ribbon.  Start on the right.  At the base of the palm tree, insert your craft needle (threaded with ribbon) like this:

Leaving some ribbon out (about 8 inches or so), keep stitching around the step pony until you get to the top.  Stitch around that elastic a couple of times if you want, then stitch back the way you came, taking care to position your stitches so they criss-cross each time.  It's also a good idea to make sure that your ribbon isn't twisted after each stitch.  It looks much nicer if the ribbon lays flat around the hair.  After doing one 'side,' here's more or less what it should look like (not perfect, but you get the idea):

Take the two pieces of ribbon at the end and wrap them around the elastic of the palm tree a few times, going opposite directions.  Then tie a bow.  Trim the ends to the length you want.  Do the same to the other side.  Congratulations, you're done!