How to Tie a Single Bow
Create a single bow with wired, plastic or fabric ribbon to adorn a customized greeting card, a gift box or any other home decor project. Using the same principle as tying your sneakers, tying a single-looped bow is almost second nature. Use a thinner ribbon for smaller projects like scrapbook pages and cards, and use a thicker ribbon for outdoor decor such as wrapping a ribbon around your old oak tree in support of a charitable cause or the U.S. troops overseas.
Instructions
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Create a loop with ribbon, leaving the remaining ribbon on the spool, 4 inches from the ribbon's end. Pinch the ribbon together with the index finger and thumb of your non-dominant hand.
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Unravel more ribbon with your dominant hand and use the next section of ribbon to wrap around the pinched section and round your fingers. Push the ribbon through the created loop by your fingers and remove your finger from the loop.
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Pull the ribbon section through to create a second loop and pull both loops simultaneously, but do not make the center knot tight. Cut the bow from the spool of ribbon, leaving a 4-inch hanging tail.
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Pull on the loops and ribbon tails gently until you have reached the desired look of your bow, slightly tightening the center knot each time as you pull. When your loop is too large on one side, pull the opposite side's ribbon tail to remedy it.
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Trim the ribbon ends at an angle using a pair of sharp scissors and heat seal them by waving each cut edge over the open flame of a lighter. Do not hold the ribbon into the flame but wave it over the flame only enough to melt the edges slightly, but not enough to burn it.
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Tips & Warnings
When creating larger single bows, leave a larger tail at the beginning and end, as you can always trim it. If you don't allow yourself enough ribbon tail in the beginning, you'll have to retie your bow.
Use the technique on gift packaging after wrapping a longer length of ribbon around the package, twisting it on the back and bringing it back to the front for bow-tying.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
