This tutorial is a two for one! We'll be making a felt barrette holder and also the button barrettes that you can put inside.

Supplies:

felt cut to 5" X 9", and a couple of pieces cut in shapes for embellishment
buttons, an assortment
embroidery floss
needle (small enough to fit through buttonholes)
mini barrettes (with the pre cut holes for stitching)
sewing machine (optional--small enough project that this could easily be handstitched)

The first thing you'll want to do is cut your felt. I buy my felt in sheets from Hobby Lobby for 5/$1 or less when there is a sale. You can easily make two of these in coordinating colors from 2 sheets of felt.

I chose a flower embellishment. You can really do whatever you want to embellish the front of your barrette holder. You can embroider a name or initial. You could also leave it blank. I cut out two sizes of flower to layer and a button to put on top.

I separated the 6 ply embroidery floss and just used 2 strands for this project. I cut an 18 inch length and it was enough to stitch the embellishment and 4 barrettes.

Secure the embroidery floss to the back of the pink flower and stitch through all three layers. Once it is somewhat secure, you can attach it to your 5" X 9" piece of felt.

Lay your felt out with the 5" side facing you. You will want to place your embellishment between 2" and 4". I centered mine 3 inches up.

Next you will want to fold up the edges. I folded them up 2 inches on each side. This gives enough space if you'd rather accommodate a larger size barrette as well.

Stitch around all edges being careful not to catch your embellishment. This would also be really cute with contrasting thread and a decorative stitch. The barrette holder is finished! This took me about 10 minutes to make.

You'll notice that this barrette has three little holes on the end. For this type of barrette, you'll need those holes. There are a lot of other barrette tutorials out there that show you how to make fabric covered button barrettes and those with ribbons and flowers, etc... This type of barrette is best used for stitching.

I secured my embroidery floss to the barrette using the holes and stitching a knot. I then stitched through the button and the holes tightly with the floss. I went through the holes several times and then secured the floss on the back and trimmed it closely.

This is a great project to do with a group of girls. I can imagine girls age 5-10 would love this project. Grab a big pile of buttons, a stack of felt, and let them get crafty!

Share pictures of your finished project at my flickr group.