I prefer the barrettes....but I put the girls hair up first in a grooming band and then put the bow through the topnot.
I have not seen directions on making bows....but you did a great job on the one you did. I know there are different stiffners you can use, but all the bows I ever made I did not stiffen... but then again, they did not stay very pretty for long. I started out hot glueing the bows to the barrette, but they did not stay very well....so I went to sewing the bows on the barrette instead but had problems with the thread not breaking....so my final try was hot glueing and then sewing ...that worked best....but I gave up and have gone back to buying bows! (Currently my favorites are the korkie bows!
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