DIY Hanging Hair Clip Holder.

[Originally posted here on February 19, 2014.]

Little girls seem to come with lots of stuff.

First time in her fairy wings.

Like tutus, fairy wings, and TONS OF PRETTY HAIR THINGS.

On a good day, our counter looks like this:

Here we have bows, and clips, and bows, and elastics, and bows....

No way am I showing you what it looks like on a bad day. Anyway, even with everything corraled, I always find myself digging for the right clip while trying to keep a squirmy two-year-old entertained and safe on the countertop. Not always an easy task. So I set out to organize the myriad of bows and clips in another way.

DIY Hanging Hair Clip Holder: for clips, headbands, and ponytail elastics.

I totally meant to take process pics......but I blame Game of Thrones. I juuuust found out last week that we can watch the first three seasons through Xfinity's On Demand, and since I recently finished the first three books, I finally figured out how to work the TV/cable remote so I could watch them during naptimes. It was around the crowning of Viserys that I realized that I was almost done with the project and hadn't yet taken a picture.....oops!

So here is a shot of the finished product, before loading it up with all the hair stuff:

Empty hair clip holder.

You will need:

• About 3 1/2 feet of ribbon
• D-ring (the width of the ribbon--mine was 1")
• Shower curtain ring (the kind pictured)
• Thread

I cut two lengths of ribbon: 30 inches (2 1/2 feet) for the main piece of the hair clip holder, and a 9-inch piece for the loops at the top for headbands. I used a wood-burning tool to cut and sear the ends so I didn't have to deal with folding the ends over to hide fraying.

Headband holders.

Sewing these loops is the hardest part of this relatively easy project, simply because measuring it all out and getting it perfectly even took me a few tries before I even started sewing them on. I'll give you my measurements, though, so that should cut out some of the trial-and-error for those of you who would like to make one of your own.

I started with a nine-inch piece of ribbon, flipped it over, and used a disappearing-ink fabric pen to mark the back at 3-inch intervals (so at the 3" and 6" marks). Then I determined how far from the top of the main ribbon I wanted the loops to be (taking into account that I would be sewing the very top through the D-ring), and marked four points at 1 1/4-inch intervals on the back of the main ribbon, starting with where I wanted the top of the top loop.

I sewed the loops on by hand, mostly because my sewing machine chose to be tempermental yesterday (it tends to revolt when it feels I've been overworking it....*sigh*). Start by lining the ribbons up, top (pretty) sides together (and the short length upside down, if it matters), with the short length below where you want the loops. Line it up so that one end of the short length overlaps the bottom of the four marks just enough to sew it in place. Once that is sewn on (as securely as you please--I sew the whole width twice), find the next three-inch mark on the short length of ribbon, fold it pretty-sides-together at that mark, and loop it up to the next 1 1/4-inch mark on the main ribbon (in such a way that the loose end of the short length is still hanging below where you are sewing); sew in place, through both layers of folded ribbon as well as the main ribbon (so, going through three layers). Do the same at the six-inch mark. Finish by sewing the top end of the short length onto the top and final 1 1/4-inch mark on main ribbon.

Next, sew the D-ring onto the top of the main ribbon--this will be what you hang the whole thing from.

Shower curtain ring for hair elastics.

Next, I sewed a large loop at the bottom for a shower curtain ring. I happened to have an extra set of these, and they are perfect for holding ponytail elastics! You can turn the ring and slide the elastics around so that you can always get to the one you want without taking others off.

Looking down.

When I first finished it, and hung it on the wall, I thought it seemed way too long. I'm really glad I didn't cut it right then! Turns out, all of Kaylie's clip just barely fit onto it as it is!

Lots of bows!

Sadly, you can't really see Belle anymore once it's loaded up! I found that ribbon a couple years ago, by the way, and bought it on a whim, hoping my daughter would end up liking my favorite Disney princess. So far, she prefers Rex the dinosaur from Toy Story....

Headband holders.

Kaylie only has one headband so far, but I made three loops in anticipation of that number growing. Each loop could easily fit multiple headbands, as well.

Ponytail elastics--sorted, of course.

Before loading them onto the ring, I sorted the ponytail elastics by color, of course. Or rather, by shade of pink.....I need to find some more colors!

Problematic clips.

These flower clips were the only ones that presented a problem--they would probably clip around a narrower ribbon than the one I used, but alas, I had to toss them back into the little box on the counter. Still, it's nice not having to dig for them anymore--they're very easy to find now!

By the way, a quick recommendation for anyone buying clips as gifts or, like me, before your daughter has enough hair to use them:

Buy the bottom kind, not the top ones.

See how the clip part is covered by ribbon on the top one? If you're using them with loose hair just to clip it back out of the face, that's fine, but I usually use bow clips with a ponytail, clipping it just above the elastic. The top ones DO NOT WORK for this--the ribbon catches on all the hair you're trying to push it through. But the bottom kind, with the metal clip bare, is perfect! It glides right through the hair with no catching.

Anyway, hope this inspires your own creative solutions to keep your counter clutter-free! Or clutter-freeish....

All the pretty hair things!