Whether wrapped in beautiful paper or placed a festive holiday bag, gifts look more finished with a simple ribbon bow. Of course you can find ribbon gift bows commercially, but making your own lets you customize the color and size. Also, you can buy spools of themed ribbon at a fraction of the retail cost after each holiday, so stocking up for any occasion is wallet-friendly, too. You can even make a whole batch of gift ribbon bows at once, because they take only minutes apiece and use the most basic supplies.
Instructions
1. Hold your thumb and forefinger as far apart as you want the diameter of the finished gift bow to be, then wind the wide ribbon around your thumb and finger 8 to 10 times, forming a stack of loops.
2. Hold the center of the stack of loops with your other hand and slide your thumb and forefinger out of the loops. Fold the whole stack in half together, right at the center where your other hand is holding it, and carefully remove your other hand.
3. Cut each corner of the center fold at an angle. Do not cut off the entire fold--make sure to leave about half the total width of the fold intact in the center.
4. Unfold the stack of loops. You should see two triangular notches in the center of the stack. Tie or twist the curling ribbon or wire securely around the center at these notches.
5. Hold the secured center with one hand and grasp an inside-most loop with the other hand. Pull that inner loop out so it's at right angles with the tied stack, then gently twist that loop toward you with a half twist.
6. Pull out and twist the remaining loops in the same way you did the first, one by one, from inner-most to outer-most, turning the bow or switching hands as you need. You won't be able to pull every single loop to right angles with the stack, but as long as they're starting to form a filled-out, puffy bow, you're doing it right.
7. Adjust the loops and fluff as desired to make a nice round bow. Use the ends of the wire or curling ribbon to attach your finished bow to the gift for which you made it.
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