How to Make a Floppy Fabric Bow

Tie floppy ribbons around wedding programs.

Floppy fabric bows are ideal for topping off a wrapped package or adding pizzazz to a Christmas tree. Be sure you choose fabric the appropriate size for however you intend to use the bow. Pick out a wide bow-making material if yours is to sit perched atop a 6-foot tree, for example. On the other hand, a thin fabric may better complement a small- to medium-sized birthday gift.

Things You'll Need

• Yard stick
• Scissors
• Decorative wire

Instructions

1. Measure and cut a 5-yard-long strand of bow fabric. Use satin if this is your first time attempting a bow. Satin is a flexible material and ideal for mastering bow making. Velvet, on the other hand, is dense and rigid---making the process more difficult.

2. Position the fabric so that the good side is facing you. Form a large loop with the fabric, allowing the tail ends to hang down to the left and right side. The bad side---the underside---of the ribbon should now be seen on one of the tails. Pinch the bottom of the loop to hold it in place. The size of the loop is up to you, depending on how much you want the bow to flop.

3. Rotate the loop to the right so it is in a horizontal direction. Pull up the end of the right tail and make another loop on the opposite end of the first loop. Pinch and hold both loops in place at center.

4. Pull the right tail end under your thumb so the fabric extends out over the left---the initial---loop. Stop pulling just before you reach the full length of the initial loop. Loop the fabric back in toward center. Repeat this step to the right side. You now have four loops in hand.

5. Continue this overlapping loop process---making each loop ever smaller---until you have as many floppy loops as suit your bow-making needs.

6. Twist a small loop at top with the remaining portion of the fabric. Slide a piece of decorative wire through the small loop. Pull the small loop snuggly, allowing any remaining portion of the fabric to re-hang as a tail, and wind the wire tightly around the center of the loops to hold them in place.

7. Pull each individual loop out as necessary---in different directions---to form a full-fledged floppy bow.

References

• Craft Town: Bow Making Instructions
• Save on Crafts: How to Tie a Bow