Last week we made tiny bows using a fork, this time it's how to make a big bow. The nice, full, multi-loop bows that you'd hang on a wreath, the front door, a banister, or a gift. Do you know how to do this already? In that case good for you and never mind the rest of this post hahaha. I knew how to do it in theory but this morning I took one apart to really learn the correct way to put one together.
This one is made using 2" wired ribbon - it's 3 loops for the bow, 1 small loop for the center, and one long piece for the tail. You'll also need wire (or some other material like yarn, twine, etc.) and a stapler to attach it all together.
To make a bow about 8" wide and 12" long cut 1 piece 24" long for the tail, 3 pieces approx. 18-20" long, and 1 piece about 5" long for the center. Shape the 5" piece into a circle and staple to hold it. Shape the 3 pieces into loops, overlapping the ends in the middle. If using wired ribbon it will hold it's shape, if not wired then staple the loop closed to hold it.
Now take one of the loops and fold the middle in half, then fold the sides back on itself - you're sort of pleating the center of the loop. You could also just pinch the middle, you want to get it as flat as possible and then staple to hold. Repeat with the other 2 loops.
Run a long piece of wire thru the middle of the small center circle. Stack the 3 loops together with the stapled edges touching. Pinch the middle of the long tail and stack that up against the loops. Lay them on top of the center circle, bring the wire over and twist to hold everything in place. Turn over and fluff all the pieces until you have a nice full bow.
You can adjust the size of the bow by making the loops bigger or smaller, using different widths of ribbon, and add more loops if you want it even fuller. There, now we can all make professional looking bows!
