Bow and Tell

Well after making bows for a while now I've decided to do a little bow tutorial! I will try my hardest to explain what I do along with each picture! Making bows is something that you just have to practice! I've only gotten better and quicker the more bows I make!!! To start off, here are a few of my tips that are REALLY helpful!

Tips

- Always thread your needle FIRST! That way you can easily thread it through the bow without loosing your spot! And I've added a picture of how the needle should be threaded because I had NO CLUE and it took me forever to figure it out. I'm sure this is like super simple for all of you, but if you're like me, it helps to have a visual!

Thread your needle with string so that you have it about this long, maybe a little longer, and tie the two hanging pieces in a knot about where this person's thumb is towards the bottom.

- I heat treat the ends of my ribbon with a lighter, it seals the ribbon and keeps it from fraying.

- When threading your needle, longer is always better! Having not enough string is so frustrating!

Measuring Your Ribbon

For these bows I'm using 1.5" ribbon, and about a yard of ribbon for each bow! Check your spool and if you have 4 yards of ribbon an easy way to measure out a yard is to pull all ribbon off the spool and cut it in half, and then cut the halves in half! There ya go, 4 pieces of ribbon! :-)

Steps

1. First cross both ends of the ribbon to create a traingle base. Mine usually measure 3" across the bottom. Also, be sure to thread your needle!

2. Pick up the ribbon at the point where the two sides cross.

3. Take one side and cross it underneath. Make sure the loop you make is the same size as the other two.

4. Cross the other side underneath as well.

5. Take the right piece of ribbon and fold it onto the middle of the bow.

6. Do the same with the other side.

NOTE: You may not always have them match up like this. I have extra leftover sometimes. You can either clip these down after you've sewn the bow, OR you can make them into tails if you have enough left over!

7. Take your needle and thread it through the center making sure not to pull the string through just yet. Just thread the needle, this will make your center crease once you pull it through.

8. Pull the needle through, scrunch it as you do this.

9. Then wrap the string around the center a couple of times and tie a knot!

10. Play with the bow once you have it sewn! For this one I flipped it around and fluffed the loops until I found a look that I liked!

11. I use smaller ribbon to wrap around the middle.

12. Put a spot of hot glue on the side you've declared the "back".

13. Press down one end of the smaller ribbon, let dry and then wrap around the center of the bow. Once you have a smooth center you can cut the extra ribbon and put another spot of hot glue on the back to secure it.

And there you have it! :-) Your finished bow!!!

My biggest tip for all of you bow makin' mama's out there is to PRACTICE! :-) Don't get disocuraged...it takes making LOTS of bows that look funny to get the look you want! If you have any questions just e-mail me!!! Good Luck! I'll be doing a tutorial on how to cover and attach alligator clips soon!