How to Make Cork Screw Ribbon Hairbows
Cork screw ribbon hairbows, also known as korker bows, provide a touch of boutique style to hairstyles for girls of any age. When you learn to make your own curly ribbon bows, you have the benefit of saving money by not paying the boutique price for this easy at-home craft project, and you can also customize your bows to fit any size or color combination. While even beginning crafters can handle this project, it does require the use of an oven and children should be supervised when they are making curly ribbon for bows. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Ribbon of any kind (unwired)
- Matching thread
- Spray-on fray resistant product
- Several 1/4-inch wooden dowels, 1 yard long
- Wooden clothespins or metal binder clips
- Industrial shears or a hand saw
- Scissors
- Oven
- Aluminum foil
- Hair clips or elastic bands
Instructions
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1
Choose several spools of ribbon in one or several colors to match school colors or holiday décor.
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2
Prepare dowels by cutting or sawing into smaller pieces to fit the size of your oven, as these are the vehicle for baking the shape into curly ribbon.
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3
Clip the end of the ribbon to one end of the prepared dowel, then wrap the ribbon around the dowel in a spiral that doesn't overlap itself. Stop when you get to the other end of the dowel, then cut the ribbon free from the spool and clip it down with a second clip.
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4
Line an oven rack or cookie sheet with foil to protect the ribbons from stains and burns.
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5
Bake the curly ribbon covered dowels in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
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6
Check the curly ribbon to see if the curls are tight and dry, and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes if necessary.
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7
Allow the curly ribbon to cool on a wire rack before removing the ribbons from the dowels to make cork screw ribbon hairbows.
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8
Trim the ribbon to 2-to-4-inch pieces, depending on how long you want the ribbons to hang from the korker bow.
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9
Treat the trimmed edges with a fray-resistant sewing product to help your korker bows last.
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10
Cut a 6-inch piece of thread that matches the color of the ribbon, since you want the thread to blend in and be covered up by the curly ribbon.
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Lay the thread flat on a table and place 10 to 20 curled ribbon pieces on top of and perpendicular to the thread, using more or fewer pieces depending on how full you want the korker bow to be.
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12
Tie a knot in the thread and tighten across the middle of the ribbon pieces so that they bunch in the middle and form a round pompom, adding a second knot to secure the korker bow.
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13
Attach the curly ribbon bunch to any hair clip or elastic band by tying it on with several pieces of thread; pass the thread through the middle of the bow where the first piece of thread was tied.
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Tips & Warnings
Use korker bows for a variety of craft projects in addition to cork screw ribbon hairbows, including flip flops, purses, backpacks and other accessories.
Never leave ribbons in the oven unattended. Also keep an eye on ribbons while they are in the oven to avoid burn spots, which are particularly problematic on light colored ribbons.
