How to Tie the Perfect Holiday Bows

Wrap your ribbon around a 4-inch embroidery hoop (just the outside piece) about 10-15 times. We ended up wrapping 13 times.

The ribbon slides around easily and is a little bit difficult to cut. Measure and mark the center and then cut out triangles on both sides. You may have to do this in layers (first the top half, then the bottom half).

Using a small piece of ribbon (or a twist tie, pipe cleaner, piece of wire, etc.), tightly tie around the center. If you are using ribbon, make sure to tie it so that the ends tie in the back where you first started wrapping.

Make sure the hoop is open. Slide the tied ribbon off of the embroidery hoop. Notice how in the picture below the bottom is up. You may want to trim those three loose ends now to keep them from sticking out later.

Make sure the bottom is down. Start with one side and carefully pull out the innermost loop and twist it away. Keep pulling out the inner loops and twisting in opposite directions. I ended up alternating and pulling about half of the loops to the right and half to the left. Repeat this same process for the other side.

 At first, the bow might look a little flat. Keep pulling and twisting the loops until you are happy with how the bow looks. You can also hold the bow by the back middle and shake it out to fluff it. You can attach the bow with a safety pin, paper clip, hot glue gun, or even tape. You can reuse the bow, or save the ribbon and use it later for something else.

Cut a felt page lengthwise into 9 strips. Each strip should measure 3/4 inches wide. Leave 3 strips full length, 8.5 inches long + cut 1 inch off 3 of the strips + cut 2 inches off 2 of the strips + cut the last strip down to 3 1/2 inches long.

Twist each strip to form a loop at both ends + sew it in the center. Shape the shortest strip into a circle + secure it with a glue dot.

Layer the strips from longest to smallest, making sure you space each set evenly + carefully. Finally, stick the loop into the center. Once they are grouped sew all parts together.

You’re done. You can use the bow as is for gift wrapping or you can add a pin to the back to wear it with your favorite blouse. You can transform this bow into a headband + clip + comb or anything else you’d like. You can also make them with recycled paper, like a map + magazine + newspaper or vintage paper for a nice variation.

The first thing you do is make the center of your bow by creating a small loop. Keep your thumb inside the loop, holding down the end of your ribbon as you make the rest of the bow.

From that center loop, create a bigger loop on each side. Going back and forth while holding the center together.

This ribbon was easy because it was the same on both sides.  If you are using a wire edged ribbon that has a design on one side, you will have to twist the ribbon at the center of the bow, as you begin to make the loops on each side. I make 4 loops on each side.  I try to make them all the same size, but sometimes that doesn’t work and that is why we love the wire edge on the ribbon.  To finish off the bow create one large loop that goes down and will loop back up to the bow.

First, cut the paper into strips 8 and a half inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide. If you have a paper cutter this step is very quick and easy. You will need 5 – 8 strips per bow.

Next, fold the strip in half to mark the middle. Then fold back and glue down each side with a hot glue gun, or another instant adhesive. Scotch tape would also work well. Try to keep the ends somewhat pointy.

Once you have made all of these figure 8 petals, start gluing them one at a time. Glue down the first 3 petals so that you have what looks like a 6 petaled flower with a gap in the middle. Next, add the last two folded up inside of the others. You can use any number of petals. For the pink bows I used 5, for the blue bow I used 6, and for the newspaper bows I used 7.

For thicker paper (like regular printer paper or scrapbook paper) it seems to work well to use only 5 or 6 petals. You can experiment with different numbers of petals and different sizes of the strips. I found that as long as they fit, the more petals you use the better it looks.

You can assemble felt bows, silk bows, paper bows, and many other types to really make your gift stand out under the tree at holiday time. The great thing is you can also use these ideas to make bows for birthday presents and other types of gifts and make your presentation to others truly unforgettable.