How to Tie a Satin Bow

A beautifully tied satin bow will make your gift stand out from all the others. It can add flair to a hairstyle, especially when the satin bow is in the hair of a sweet little girl, enhance a dress or scarf, or add a perfect finishing touch to a Christmas tree, wreath, or other decorative item. If a previously tied satin bow has become untied, you can press out the original wrinkles, re-tie it and use it again.

Things You'll Need

• Satin material in a sufficient length to tie a bow
• Glue, thread, or other means of fastening the bow so it will stayed tied.

Instructions

1. Determine which the “good” side of the fabric, and which is the “bad” side. If the fabric truly does not have a “bad” side, then pick one side to be the “good” side, then mark it in some way (a small pencil mark, for example), so you will know which side is which during the tying process

2. Fold the material in half long ways, with the “good” side facing out, and decide how long you want the tail to be.

3. Continue measuring the tail length while you hold the folded fabric so that you are looking the “good” side.

4. Twist the folded fabric one-half turn, to where you have the “good” side below the twist and the “bad” side above the twist.

5. Loop the fabric that is above the twist.

6. Roll the loop you just made towards yourself, so that you can see the “good” side again. Bring the ribbon back to the place where you made your first twist, and hold it there.

7. Again, starting from the first twist point, twist the ribbon so that you are now looking at the “bad” side, and make another loop that is close to the size of the one you made before. Bring the ribbon back to the place where you made your first twist, and hold it there.

8. Your material should now have a “butterfly” appearance when you are looking at it in your hand. From here, you simply repeat Step 7 to make loops on one side of the twist. However, you do want to make each successive loop a little bit (but no more than one-half inch) shorter than the one before.

9. Repeat Step 7, as often as needed to make the size bow you need. Remember that you are making the loops only on one side of the twist right now. Don’t forget to successively shorten them as you work.

10. Bring the material back to the place where you made your first twist, and repeat Step 7 as often as necessary to make loops on the other side of the twist.

11. Now, make another loop half a size smaller as your previous loops. Roll this loop around your thumb at the center (the first twist point), and wrap the fabric behind the first twist point so that it is behind all the gathered fabric.

12. Still holding onto the bow, attach whatever you are going to use to hold it into place.

13. Trim the tails, if needed, or if it is too long, simply repeat the steps, making larger loops.

Tips & Warnings

• Start out with small bows that require little loops, then “graduate” to bigger ones, as you get better at bow tying.

• Finished bows can be fastened with glue (if it is strong enough to hold all the loops together, a barrette (if it is going to be used as a hair bow), pins, a button, or anything else that will hold it together.

• Follow laundering instructions for satin material, and wash it before tying the bow if it is going to be used as or on an article of clothing.

• Make sure your hands and your work surface are scrupulously clean before you ever begin work. Once you have tied the bow, it will be difficult to clean it if it becomes smudged.