Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A Better Bow

You may remember that when I made my Thanksgiving Wreath, I wasn't thrilled with how the bow turned out. Luckily, my lovely neighbor (let's call her Susie Homemaker) called me up and offered to help. With a very crafty mom of her own and some experience working at a Christmas shop, she was kind enough to offer me a quick lesson in tying the perfect bow. Just in time for the holiday season!!

Before you'll get started, you'll need:

Ribbon (wired ribbon is suggested but not do-or-die)
Wire
Scissors

It involves a lot of twisting and turning, but I've tried to capture photos to illustrate.


Step 1: Stretch out the length of ribbon you'd like as the tail.
Step 2: Twist the ribbon where you want to start the bow. Pinch the corner - you'll be holding this corner tightly during the whole process.
Step 3: Create your first loop. This will be the center of the bow.
Step 4: Start to create loops around the center. Fold the ribbon into a loop and pinch this into the rest of your bow.

5. Continue to make loops. The bow is starting to take place!
6. & 7. Keep going with the loops...


8. Keep that bow pinched tightly!
9. Add the wire through the first center loop...
10. And twist around on the back. Refluff your bow and...


Voila! A fancy bow that's a far cry from where I started with my orange ribbon.

Susie was also kind enough to give me some more ribbon to practice on. It took me a lot of twisting, pinching, looping, and starting over, but I finally got what I was looking for. Here's the updated Thanksgiving Wreath:



Poor Susie is probably shaking her head because the bows she tied for me were way more professional looking, but here's to trying and to good neighbors! Stay homey!

1 comment:

  1. I used to work in the floral industry, and bow maker was one of the many hats I wore. I haven't done one in a while, but feel like I could still turn them out in my sleep. ;) Good tutorial! And yes, wired ribbon always makes a better bow.

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