HOW TO MAKE A BOW

Happy Holidays!

I had hoped to write this post on how to make a bow earlier but hopefully it’s better late than never for those of you who are still doing last minute gift wrapping.  Last week I hosted my annual Christmas Tea for my Book Club and several of my girlfriends said they enjoyed my post on how to wrap a gift but they also wanted to know how I make my bows.  So here you go…

I like to use wired ribbon for my bows.  They sell it very inexpensively at Costco. For a good selection buy your ribbon at Costco around Thanksgiving time because by the time Christmas is near they are always sold out.

To make a bow start by unraveling a long length of ribbon from the roll.  Decide how big you want your bow to be in proportion to the gift you are wrapping. Then, holding the ribbon in the center, loop the ribbon around and around about six times.

Decide how many loops of ribbon to make depending on the type and thickness of the ribbon, but 6 loops top and bottom is usually a good number.

Once you have your 6 loops, cut the ribbon from the roll.  Then, fold the wrapped ribbon in half down the middle.

Starting at the folded end and using very sharp scissors, cut a small wedge out of one side of the folded end.

With the ribbon still folded, flip it over and cut another wedge out of the folded side of the ribbon.  Be sure to leave about 1/3 of the ribbon width intact in the center.

Now, cut off a small length of ribbon from the roll.  Unfold the bow, place it face down and tie the piece of ribbon into the cut out portion of the ribbon.  This holds the bow together.

As you can see, there is glitter everywhere. Remind me never to buy ribbon with glitter again!

Make sure it’s tied good and tight.

Now, grab hold of the ribbon end piece and fold it in half widthwise. Starting at the unfolded side, cut a wedge out of the ribbon.

This way you have a nice finished edge.  Repeat this for all 3 exposed ribbon ends.

Returning to your wrapped gift, tie ribbon around the gift.  I showed you how to do this in my How To Wrap A Gift Tutorial here. 

Now tie on your gift tag. If you wish to add a decorative gift tie-on now is the time to do that too.

Using the loose ends of the piece of ribbon used to secure your bow, tie the bow onto the gift.

To open the bow start from the inside and work your way out.  First pull one inside loop out to the left.  Then pull the next loop out to the right.  Repeat this right/left/right step until all 6 loops are pulled out from one side of the bow.

Do the same thing to the other side of the bow.

Fluff up each loop of ribbon until you have a beautiful bow like this.

When you’re all done you’ll have a bunch of pretty packages like mine.

I also love to embellish my gifts with tie-ons.  This year I bought initial ornaments from Pottery Barn for each one of my family members.

Here’s lots more wrapping inspiration for you.  Sometimes the simplest bows look the best.  For links to all of the photos below and for lots more wrapping inspiration, please visit my Pinterest Page here.

So there you have it: HOW TO MAKE A BOW

Happy Holidays!

Thanks for dropping in!  Do please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

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