Bows on Bows on Bows

My new crafting favorite is making bows. I watched a video tutorial on how to do these very simple boutique bows and I just fell in love. I ended up making them for all of the seniors in my sorority. I made about 24 in 3 days so I am a little bowed out but I thought what  a perfect time to blog about them! So, here's the "How To"...

What you will need:

• (2) 8" strips of 1.5" wide ribbon
• (1) 4" strip of 3/8" wide ribbon
• (1) strip 3/8" wide long enough to cover the back of your clip
• 1 clip, you can use any you prefer (alligator, clasp...etc.)
• Hot Glue
• Scissors
• Lighter

The first thing you want to do is take your lighter and burn the edges of the ribbon so that they do not fray, you will be able to feel if the ribbon is burnt enough, it will feel rubbery.

Take you 8" strips of ribbon and fold them in half to make a crease.

 

 

Fold one side over and stop at the crease you made, put a line of hot glue right beside the crease and fold one side over.

Now do the same thing to the other side.

 

Now, do the same thing to the other 8" strip. You should now have 2 pieces that look exactly the same.

Set these to the side and take your clip and the piece of ribbon you cut to fit over it. Hot glue the piece of ribbon to the back of the clip.

 

 

 

Set this aside, take the other piece of ribbon and pinch the middle in to make a pocket in the front.

 

(Front)                                                       (Back)

 

Put a small dot of glue in the pocket on the front side, do not glue the entire piece together, and then hold together until it sets (don't squeeze to hard, you might burn yourself). Do this to the other piece as well. The next part is a little tricky to explain, but I will try.

 

Fold back the 2 flaps on the front of the bow, like this:

 

 

On the back side you will have 2 more pockets, put a small dot of glue in those pockets as well and hold it until it sets. Again, don't squeeze to hard or you will burn your fingers. Do these steps on the other piece as well. You will end up with 2 pieces that look like this:

 

 

If your glue shows on the top a little, that is ok because the smaller ribbon will cover it. The next thing you will do is glue the two pieces together. Place one piece on top of the other....

 

 

And put glue in between the to, focus in the center, so that they 2 pieces look like the picture above. The next step is to glue on your smaller ribbon. One the back of the bow, place a small dot of glue and place your 4" 3/8" wide piece of ribbon in the center...

 

  

Wrap the piece of ribbon around once and then glue the clip on at the center of the bow...

 

 

Next, you want to open your clip and wrap the ribbon inside the clip to give it extra support...

 

 

Place a small dot of glue inside the clip and use a pen or a pencil to push it down. Continue wrapping your ribbon until it runs out, about 2 more times. Put another dot of glue where the ribbon ends and glue the tip down.

 

 

Your bow is now complete, yay!! Now you want to fluff up your corners and its complete.

 

 

You can use any color ribbon combination you would like and any size ribbon. I have made some with 2" wide ribbon and made them a little larger, it is all personal preference. Here are some others that I have done.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this post and that the instructions are easy to understand! As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments ! I love to hear from you, and would love to see some of the bows you are able to design! I will be posting more bow styles as I learn them! Have a great weekend everybody :)