How to Make Curly Gymboree Ribbons With Starch

Your daughter will love showing off her curly hair ribbons.

Gymboree, a clothing company for children, will often have girls' hair ties, clips and barrettes made with curly ribbons. Although you can choose to purchase these curly ribbons, also known as korker ribbons, you can also make them yourself right at home. If you use your oven to "bake" the ribbons into shape and starch to keep the ribbons in shape when they've cooled, making your own korker ribbons is quite simple and very inexpensive.

Things You'll Need

• Grosgrain ribbon
• 18-inch wooden dowel, 1/4 inch in diameter
• Wooden clothes pins
• Scissors
• Aluminum foil
• Starch

Instructions

1. Purchase grosgrain ribbon in any color or design you like. How many yards of ribbon you'll need will depend on how many curly ribbons you'd like to make. Typically, one hair bow will require about 20 curly ribbons, each cut to be about 20 inches in length. For best results, choose a ribbon that is either 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch in width.

2. Wrap the beginning of your ribbon around an 18-inch wooden dowel until the entire dowel is covered in the ribbon. Secure the ribbon to the top and the bottom of the dowel using wooden clothespins.

3. Snip the excess ribbon off of the dowel with a pair of scissors. Continue to wrap the ribbon around as many dowels/ribbons as you'll need.

4. Line the middle rack in your oven with aluminium foil. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Place all of your ribbon-wrapped dowels on top of the foil in your heated oven. Bake the ribbons in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Remove the ribbons from the oven and allow them to completely cool --- about 30 minutes.

7. Remove the clothespins from the ribbons. Spray each ribbon-wrapped dowel with an even coating of starch. Allow five minutes for the starch to completely dry. You can also use a ribbon stiffener in place of starch.

8. Slide the dowel out from the middle of each ribbon. You can tie all the ribbons together using an elastic cord, glue them to a barrette or simply use them as decoration on top of a wrapped gift.

References

• The Ribbon Retreat: How to Make Korker Ribbons and Korker Bows
• Do It Yourself Gifts: How to Make Bows --- Corscrew Ribbons