Make Your Own Ribbon Hair Ties In Just Four Stupid-Easy Steps

So, you know how I'm all about wearing bows and ribbons in my hair? As it turns out, making your own ribbon elastics is THE easiest and cheapest DIY ever. More than preparing a bowl of cereal, even.

 

Before I outline the idiot-proof step-by-step process, I’ll begin by saying the ribbon elastics I originally had from Sephora cost $8.50 for a packet of eight ties. That’s roughly $1.06 each. Let’s just let that sink in for a second.

 

And now, the process.

 

 

My plan was to go to M&J Trimming (on 38th Street and 6th Ave. here in Manhattan), not just because it has the same name as I do, but because it has the same name as I do.

  There she is, in all her glory. Maybe next time.

HOWEVER! On my way there, I stumbled upon East Coast Trimming, a ribbon superstore on 38th and Broadway. Tempted to go to my namesake, I passed back and forth in front of East Coast Trimming a few times before I truly couldn’t resist, and decided to enter.

 

And I'm glad I did. The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with ribbons and buttons galore. I felt like Belle in the library scene in Beauty & The Beast, except for the books and ladder-on-wheels. So not at all, I guess. 

So. Many. Ribbons.

Overwhelmed with choices, I approached the friendly saleslady and asked for help. (Never be afraid to ask for help, ladies. Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet. Usually. Sometimes.)

Overwhelmed selfie!

She showed me the vast array of elastic ribbon the store caried: solid, patterned, textured, sparkly--the selection was endless! In the end, I settled for four: a purple, a pink, a striped, and a sparkly, for a dash of pizzazz.

 

I figured I needed about eight inches of each, but the elastic was sold by the yard. That was too much! I managed to knock off a few inches (never be afraid to negotiate!) and bought half a yard of each.

 

At $1.75 per yard, and at a half-yard for four ribbons, my total came to $3.50. And each half-yard allotted me TWO hair ties, which comes to a total of under 44 cents each.

 

See that, everyone? Less than half of what we spent at Sephora! YAHTZE! 

 

Okay, next...

 

I didn’t even have a ruler handy, so I took a 3x5 index card and eye-balled it. 

 

I folded in half and snipped away at a fancy slanted angle. 

 

Would it have killed me to take TWO seconds to dab some nail polish on that thumb?!

Make a knot and pull. I mean, this is all self-explanatory. I just relied on some classic common sense. (Don’t be afraid to use your common sense, ladies!)

 

Check out the final product. Guess which two are bought and which one is self-made. You can’t, even! You just can’t!

And the real test: putting it in my hair!

It's totally holding up my ponytail!

Let me know if you give this a try. Or if you just stick to store-bought ones--no judgements.