Whether creating bows for your holiday tree or an oversized hair bow, sewing the bow out of fabric is one method of achieving your goals. An alternative to ribbon bows, sewing fabric together with the seams inside does not show any fraying edges and when well-kept, can last much longer than ribbon bows. Creating the bow only requires a few lines of a machine's straight stitch and some fabric maneuvering to result in a large fabric bow.
Instructions
1. Measure, mark and cut a rectangle of fabric that is twice the width and twice the length of the desired size of the finished bow plus 1/2-inch on each measurement for 1/4-inch seam allowances. For example, if you are sewing a 6-inch long bow with loop widths of 5 inches, you measure and cut a rectangle measuring 12 1/2-by-10 1/2 inches.
2. Fold the fabric rectangle in half lengthwise with right sides facing each other and sew the long edge together with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. This transforms the fabric into a tube.
3. Reach your arm through the fabric tunnel, grab the opposite end of the fabric and turn it right-side out. Position the tube so that the sewed seam is in the center and iron the fabric creases down.
4. Fold the fabric in half width-wise and sew the two open edges together using a 1/4-inch seam allowance to create a ring of fabric. Turn the ring inside out so that the seam is inside the ring. Lay the ring down on your work surface and position the seam in center.
5. Measure, mark and cut two more fabric rectangles that measure the width of the finished bow loops, plus 1/2-inch for seam allowances, and twice the length of the desired bow tails.
6. Stack the two fabric rectangles on top of each other, right sides together, and cut a "V" shape from each shorter edge to create a fishtail design at the end of the bow tails.
7. Sew the edges together using a straight stitch and a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Sew also 1/4-inch from the V-shaped tails but leave a 3-inch open section in the center of one long straight edge. Trim off the extra fabric from the ends of the V-shaped tails.
8. Turn the fabric right side out by pressing the entire fabric through the 3-inch gap that was not sewn together. Press your marking pen or scissor into each point of the inside of the V-shaped tails. Machine sew the gap closed, sewing very close to the edge.
9. Cut a third piece of fabric into a square shape that is the same measurement of the width of the bow on each edge. Fold it with right sides together and sew the two long edges with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn it right-side out, position the seam in the center and iron the creases down.
10. Lay the bow tails down on your work surface and position the large fabric ring, seam side down, onto the center of the bow tail section. Place the small fabric tube perpendicular on top of the fabric ring and turn the stack over.
11. Wrap the small fabric tube ends around the center of both the tail section and the ring tightly to create the bow form. Turn the ends of the small fabric tube under, thread a needle with the same thread used to sew the bow and hand-sew the tube together as the center of the bow.
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