How to Make Spikes for Stacked Bows

Be green and make your own gift bows from newspaper or magazine pages.

When wrapping a present, it takes little effort to buy a bow and stick it on. However, take a few minutes to create your own bow, and give your present a more personal feel. There are many different kinds of bows that can be made, which means that each of your presents will be different and distinctive. One of the simplest bows to make is the stacked bow. It’s even more creative to add spikes to this bow to give it a more artistic feel.

Things You'll Need

• Eight equally sized strips of ribbon
• Hole punch
• Brad or small pin
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Cut eight strips of ribbon. The ribbon should be about ¾ of an inch to 1 inch wide. The strips can be anywhere between 8 and 11 inches long, but each strip should be the same length. For wider ribbon, use longer strips.

2. Grasp one strip of ribbon at the center. The longest edges of the ribbon should be vertical. Fold the top edge of the ribbon down, twisting it slightly to the right, so that what was the back of the ribbon touches the center of the front of the ribbon. This creates a loop.

3. Make a second loop at the bottom of the ribbon, bringing the bottom edge up and twisting to create a loop. Each loop will be slightly pointy. What were the top and bottom edges should overlap slightly at the center of the ribbon.

4. Punch a hole in the middle of the ribbon, through each layer.

5. Insert a small brad or pin through the hole to hold it together.

6. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 on the remaining seven pieces of ribbon. Stack each one under the previous ribbon, pushing the same brad or pin through the hole to hold each ribbon together.

7. Open the edges of the brad outward and fold them up, or secure the pin, to complete the stacked bow and lock everything securely together.

8. Make a small cut with a pair of scissors, starting at the bottom right or left corner of one loop, near the brad. Cut, on a diagonal, upward, toward the top of the loop. Cut through only the top layer of the loop. Stop the cut just after you pass the top of the loop. This creates a small spike that sticks up. The exact angle and depth of the cut is up to you, as it will determine the size of the spike.

9. Create more spikes by making small cuts in other loops, until you’re satisfied with the appearance of the bow. Each spike can point in the same direction, or you can make the spikes point in different directions by starting the cuts at different sides of the loops.

References

• Fave Craft; Green Crafting Gift Wrap Bow; Allyson Spindler
• “Wrap It Up”; Espen Makrussen; 2009