I found this on the web and copied it some time ago. Sounds confusing, but maybe when you actually do it - it makes sense. I've bought everything I need, but haven't got around to trying it. I know many use fabric stiffener, but this doesn't mention any. Let us know how it goes.
Okay, here goes. This is how I make bows. What I do to start: Place a small rubberband on a hemastat and set aside. Take three fingers, and hold them together like a scout salute. Now holding your hand palm up, lay two colors of ribbon across your fingers starting at your ring finger, and wrap two times, ending at the edge of your index finger. Clip the ribbon on the diagonal.Slip loops off your fingers, being careful not to let them get loose. Hold them together in the middle, and fold in half carefully, taking care not to crush the ends of the loops. Take a small notch at both corners of the fold, about a third of the way in. This is to help the loops fluff out nice. Open up the fold just enough to lay the notched part across the hemostats, above the band. Take the band, twist it, and loop it over the tip of the hemostat. Flip it and pull the bottom of the band over the top of the hemostat. Take your fingers, and pull the inner loops out from the center, giving them a little twist to help them stay out. This is what the notches are for. Alternate sides and colors. Now you should have a really nice looking bow. It will take some practice, as it requires dexterity working with those little things, but they are fun to do. I have sometimes taken little bits of metallic rickarack or plastic beads and lay them on the ribbon before pulling the band over. Puts it right in the center and is so cute! Make those the length of your three fingers, not looped.
I have the regular ribbon that you see in the catalogs, and I have the thin kind that I got from the craft store that I use for the yorkie bows. For the yorkie bows I just use two fingers, and don't do the notch. Everything else is the same. |