Make A Bow

 

I LOVE saving money.  Who doesn't!   So when I'm working on a special project, I head straight to the clearance isle; but even on sale, I've found that some things can be quite expensive.  Bows are no exception.  So instead of buying a ready made bow, I buy a spool of ribbon.  I get a good bargain, the color and pattern I want, and have fun creating my own design.  For this project I used 1 1/2" wide ribbon 17-18' long. 

This is what I did:

1. I measured out an 18" tail. 
2. I made a loop 22" in circumference and paper clipped it to the tail.
3. I looped it around 7 more times and paper clipped each new loop to the one before.  Less loops will make the bow less full.
4. I measured out the second tail to 24" and cut the ribbon off.
5. I paper clipped the loops together in the center having 11" on each side of the clip.
6. I cut a piece of wire 18" long.
7. I wrapped the wire and twisted it tight in the center and removed the paper clip.
8. With the second, longer tail, I made a small loop in the center and wrapped the wire through it securing and twisting it to the center again.  This step is optional.
9. I separated and shaped the loops by pulling them apart.
10. I trimmed the ends of the tails by cutting two points.

 


I plan to put this bow on an Easter wreath outside my door so I used ribbon that is water resistant and I left the wire long so that I could easily attach it.   Tip:  I find that bows are easier to shape when I use wired ribbon.