How to Decorate Church Pews With Tulle for a Wedding

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Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape

  • Marking pen

  • Cardboard

  • Large corsage pins

  • Thin wire

  • Floral accents

  • Ribbon

Tulle is used as a decorating item in many weddings. It is a lightweight fabric that has added whimsical elegance and romance to the site of many wedding ceremonies and receptions. Pew bows made of tulle can be made by hand and used to decorate church pews for a wedding in a number of charming ways. While beads or flowers can be used to accent pew bows, the bows can stand alone as pew decorations as well.

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Making Pew Bows

Step 1

Calculate how much tulle will be needed. The Decorating with Tulle website claims that most pew bows measure 12 inches in diameter and require 5 yards of tulle. Eighteen-inch pew bows require 7 yards of tulle, and small pew bows, those that measure approximately 8 inches in diameter, call for 4 yards of tulle. Assume that a 12-inch pew bow is being made.

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Step 2

Measure a distance of 12 inches on a piece of cardboard and cut two pieces of tulle, one a yard long and one 4 yards long. Place one end of the 4-yard-long piece on the markings on the cardboard. Pin the tulle in place with two large corsage pins, one on each corner of that end of the tulle.

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Step 3

Fold the rest of the longer piece of tulle to create pleats. Move the rest of the piece toward the second mark on the cardboard, fold it back, and pin it in place. Repeat this, removing the pins, folding the tulle, and pinning again, until at least five pleats have been made on either side. As the Decorating with Tulle website cautions, "The pins should continue to stay (12 inches) apart and should be placed in each of the (four) corners to help keep the tulle in place."

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Step 4

Pin all corners of pleated tulle, and then slide a 3-foot-long piece of tulle underneath the pinned bow until both ends hanging down are equal in length. This hanging tulle will be used to tie the center of the bow.

Step 5

Tie the 3-foot-long piece of tulle into a square knot in the middle of the bow, using the hanging pieces. The bow should appear to be pinned in all four corners, with a knot in the center, and excess tulle hanging down.

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Step 6

Unpin the bow and fluff out the layers and loops of the bow.

Step 7

Add a piece of white or colored ribbon to the back of the bow to loop it over a church pew.

Adding Flowers

Step 1

Add flowers to bows that appear very neat and crisp by inserting a small rose or other bloom of your choice into the knot in the pew bow.

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Step 2

Create a poofier bow that can be accented with flowers by looping a long piece of tulle back and forth and secure it in the center with a thin piece of wire. Fluff the looped ends of tulle out in several directions.

Step 3

Add a small flower to the middle of the bow and small flowers near the edges of some of the tulle loops. Take care to use flowers that are not very heavy and will not weigh the bow down, such as baby's breath.

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