Author:Mickiswing

Save yourself some money buying those boutique bows and make them at home yourself. They're easy! I promise!

Gather your supplies. For this bow I used:

1/4" ribbon
1/4" wooden dowels
small binder clips
hair clip
glue gun
strong thread

If you want to use wider or narrower ribbon, you may want to experiment with different sized dowels. Grosgrain ribbon can also be used and looks really cute. I generally use upholstery thread, but you could even use dental floss if you want.

Secure your ribbon to one end of the dowel with a binder clip. Wrap it in a spiral until the entire dowel is covered. Secure the other end with a second clip. If you run out of ribbon somewhere in the middle, just add another length and secure with an additional clip.

The more ribbon you curl, the fuller the bow will be. These eleven dowels will make two medium full bows. For small girls you may want to make teeny bows, so this would make several.

Continue wrapping dowels until you have several. Set them on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about twenty minutes. Let them cool completely.

Pull of the clips and gently unwrap your ribbon.

Your ribbons may look a little wonky on the ends. Trim off any weird pieces.

Cut the ribbons into desired length. These pieces are about four inches long and since I want the bows fairly full, I've used six dowels worth of ribbon.

ETA: Depending on the type of ribbon you use, you may need to seal the ends to prevent fraying. Acrylic ribbon can be sealed by holding the cut end near a flame briefly until it melts very slightly, or dab the ends with Fray Check. Some ribbons may be just fine if you cut at a 45 degree angle.

Center your little bundle of ribbon on a piece of thread long enough to work with. Twelve inches is more than enough. Kind of mix them up a bit so the colors don't clump together too much.

Gather the thread tightly and tie a good, secure knot. Wrap it around one more time and tie it again.

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