How to Make Butterfly Hair Bows With a Free Pattern and SVG

Learn how to easily make adorable butterfly hair bows! This step by step tutorial makes it a breeze to assemble them and start wearing them right away.

I love a good hair bow. This adorable pattern that I’m sharing today is a butterfly hair bow. It’s the perfect hair accessory for spring or any time of the year! (Butterflies are pretty universal that way!)

There are three different sizes for these butterfly bows. Large, which measures about 5 inches. Medium, which measures about 3.75 inches, and small, which measures about 2.75 inches. These were all measured at the widest part.

Three butterfly hair bows in three sizes. Small, medium, and large.

Here is what they look like in different materials. There is one in faux leather, one in felt, and, one in glitter canvas.

Three butterfly bows made in faux leather, felt, and glitter canvas. — Top one is faux leather. Middle one is felt. Bottom one is glitter canvas.

*This post contains affiliate links.

This bow project is really easy to assemble and only requires a few supplies.

Get the Free SVG and PDF Here

Download Files

Click the pink button above to get the free SVG and pattern. Just enter your email and you will have access to the free file.

*This pattern is for personal and commercial (up to 50 times) use only.

Supplies for Butterfly Hair Bow

Faux leather, glitter canvas, or felt.
Hot glue gun
Hot glue
Alligator clips
Cut machine OR Scissors
Clips OR fabric marker (PDF version only)

Don’t forget the free SVG or pattern! (Pink button up above.)

Also, if you are looking for more hair accessories, check out this free Stacked hair bow pattern or free scrunchie sewing pattern!

SVG Cutting Instructions

Load the SVG into your cut machine software. select the material type and send it to cut.

Showing the settings I used on my cricut for glitter canvas. — Settings I used for glitter canvas. Since canvas is a fabric I used the fabric mat and the rotary blade.

Load the material onto your cutting mat and feed it into the machine. Let the machine cut the material.

Loading glitter canvas onto a cutting mat. — Ready to cut.

Glitter canvas cut and being peeled off the mat. — After cut.

PDF Cutting instructions

Print the PDF and cut out the pattern. Once it’s cut you can trace the pattern onto the backside of the material with a fabric pen. You will then be able to cut it out using the outline made with the fabric pen. I used disappearing ink for this so any markings I made wouldn’t stick around.

Tracing the pdf pattern onto the backside of my faux leather with a fabric pen.

Cutting out the faux leather that was traced with the fabric pen.

Another method you can use is to pin or clip the pattern to the material to cut it out.

*If you are using faux leather, don’t use sewing pins, they will leave permanent holes in the bow.

Assembling the Bow

Place a bit of hot glue on the center of the front side of the bottom bow piece. (This is the larger of the two pieces.)

placing hot glue on the center of the bottom butterfly bow piece.

Set the top bow piece directly on top of that glue. (This is the smaller of the two pieces.) Your bow pieces will now be stacked.

Stacking the top butterfly bow piece on top of the bottom one that just had glue placed on it.

Finishing the Butterfly Hair Bow

Take the tab and center it flush with the top on the backside of the bow. Pretty side up. So the backs of each material face each other.

placing the center tab piece flush against the backside of the butterfly bows, face up.

Clip the alligator clip onto the tab piece so it sits vertically centered on the bow. (See image below.)

Placing the alligator clip in the center of where the tab piece meets the backside of the butterfly bow.

Hot glue the tab in that position.

Putting hot glue behind the tab piece to seal it to the butterfly bow pieces. The alligator clip is also glued in this step.

Showing the tab piece with the alligator clip glued to the butterfly bow pieces.

Put some hot glue on the center front of the bow.

The bow has been flipped to the front side and I'm placing hot glue on the center front of the butterfly pieces.

Wrap the center tab around to the front and fold it down on top of the glue.

Wrapping the center tab piece around to the front and setting it in the hot glue that was just placed.

Wrap the remaining bit of the center tab back over to backside. Open the alligator clip and place the center tab inside it. Put hot glue in between the last bit of the center tab piece and the backside of the bow.

Alligator clip is open and I'm placing hot glue on the backside of the center tab piece and folding it down on the first part of the tab piece that was glued first.

Pressing the tab down in place so the hot glue can cool. — Pressing the tab in place while the glue cools down.

Let the glue cool down and the bow is done! They are now ready to clip into some cool hair styles to add that extra flair.

Finished butterfly bow in my hands. — Finished bow!

I hope this free pattern serves you well and you and whomever you are making these cute butterflies for, are as enchanted with them as I am. Thank you so much for reading and enjoy your bows!

Butterfly bow made from glitter canvas worn in hair.