One of my sister’s first jobs was working in a fancy stationery store at the mall, where she had to gift wrap quite a few items as a store onsite that had wrapping paper and cards. She taught me how to make my own gift bows long ago and I still use that method today.
All you need is some ribbon and scissors. I prefer to use wire-edge ribbon around 1.5-2 inches wide as the ribbon will hold it’s shape and you can bend it to adjust. You can use other ribbon, but wire-edged will be easiest to learn with.
Take your ribbon, and leaving it attached to the spool, create a single loop or circle with the loose end at the very bottom center. To determine what size of the bow you’d like, pinch the center of your loop and each side will become a piece of the bow. Once you have the overall size, wrap the ribbon around additional times until you have 4-5 complete loops. For narrow or more slack ribbon you may want more.
Your last loop should line up in a full circle at the bottom, overlapping the loose end of the ribbon. Cut it from the spool at an angle. Pinch your looped pile of ribbon in the center and then set it aside (note, if it does not hold it’s own shape set something on top of it to hold it in place). Cut off an extra piece of ribbon about 6 inches in length. If the ribbon is wider than 2 inches, fold it in half or cut it in half to make it narrower. Set that aside.
Take your looped ribbon again in one hand. Holding it pinched in the center, you are going to cut out a small triangle on the top and bottom of the center point similar to an hourglass cutout. Be careful not to sever the ribbon in half.
Take your spare piece of ribbon and tie it around the other ribbon to secure. Tie a basic knot at the bottom. Now your ribbon will look very similar to a stick-on bow.
Carefully separate the loop layers to create each piece of the bow. Fluff them and twist them into the desired fullness and shape, then use the loose ends of the ribbon tie to secure the bow to your present!
Hayley at Large 