DIY Denim Flower Hair Clip

Lay out all of your materials for the tie-dye process on your outdoor workspace. This includes your denim fabric, rubber bands, bowls for bleach and dye, a large bowl of water, gloves, a bottle of bleach, dye, and paper towels. 

Now it's time to tie your fabric! I suggest using about 3-5 pieces of denim and banding them in different ways- some rolled up and bands placed at intervals, and some bunched randomly. There's a bit of trial-and-error involved. Make sure your rubber bands are fairly tight so that the bleach doesn't get underneath them. 

Once your fabric has the rubber bands attached, gently pour bleach into your bowl or storage tub until it's about half full. It should be full enough that you can submerge your fabrics, but not so much that you can't move the bowl without it spilling. 

Put on your gloves for the next few steps. Place your tied denim pieces into the bowl of bleach, making sure they are totally submerged. Leave the fabric in there for about 20-30 minutes, checking about every 5-10 minutes and turning them over until the color is much lighter.

Once your fabric is sufficiently bleached, untie (or carefully cut off) the rubber bands and unfold the denim. 

This next step is optional. I made a custom color of fabric dye- mixing a dark blue powdered dye with a dark green liquid dye to get a turquoise blue color. You can use whatever color you'd like to add contrast- pink, red, and orange would all look really cool on the tie-dyed denim. 

Follow the instructions on the packaging (for this brand I used hot water as recommended to dilute the dye). The dyeing step should be done in a separate container or bowl than the bleach. You can either dip random parts of your bleached fabric into the dye or use your gloved hand to drip a bit onto the lighter areas of your denim. 

After you've achieved the colors you want, rinse your fabric in another bowl with water and white vinegar. It will help stop the dyeing process and rinse away some of the smell and excess color and bleach.  

After it's dried outside for a while, wash and dry your denim material in your washing machine. Do this separately so it doesn't bleach or dye your other clothing, etc. It might require more than one cycle to get the bleach smell out of the fabric. This step will also get the wrinkles out from the tie-dye process. 

Set your tie-dyed fabric out on your workspace and see which areas are the most aesthetically pleasing. Have your fabric scissors and other supplies nearby. 

Cut your tie-dyed fabric into squares that are at least 2" or so on most sides. They don't have to be exact, you just don't want them to be too small. In the next step, you will refine the shape so they look like flower petals. 

Trim your squares into 1.5" and 2" long petals. They don't have to be perfectly even, just similarly shaped. Make some that are on the larger side and some smaller. I tried to work around the dyed parts that had the most contrast and interesting patterns. 

Cut out a base piece to sew your petals onto. It should be about 1.25" - 1.5" wide. You can use any color piece of denim as it will be hidden. 

Next, choose the petals that have the prettiest tie-dye patterns and colors on them for your flower. Using your sewing needle, attach your larger petals onto the round base piece. Work in a circle and slightly overlap some of the petals. Start with about 6 or 7 evenly placed petals for the bottom layer. 

Continue adding the smaller petals in staggered layers on top until you have a full flower. I used about 14 total for this denim flower. 

Sew your large novelty jewel or button onto the middle of your flower. Make sure it covers up the stitches and is centrally placed. You can sew through to the other side because we will be covering the stitches in the next few steps.

Trim the excess base piece on the back of the flower, avoiding cutting any of the thread or petals.

Take a small round piece of your fabric (about 1" across) and stitch it onto the back of your denim flower. Stitch almost all around, but leave a space for the hair clip to be placed in here. I switched to a dark blue thread to blend into the fabric, so adjust your thread to the color of the piece you are using. 

Add a small amount of fabric glue into this little pocket you've created, then insert the hair clip. 

Finish attaching the small round panel to the back of the flower by stitching around where the clip is inserted. Make sure it's snug and that the clip won't come out when you're wearing it. 

After letting the glue dry for a few hours, check for loose petals and trim any stray threads. Now your groovy new hair accessory is ready to wear!