How to Make a Beautiful Ribbon Bow for Your Gift or Gift Basket and Save Money Too!

by Helen Hecker

It's easy to learn how to make a bow. A big, beautiful, tied ribbon bow puts a perfect professional finishing touch on your gifts and gift baskets. And a hand-tied bow is always a perfect finish.  The florist's bow has long been used in the floral and gift basket industry and for many years was somewhat of a trade secret.  Not anymore! And these ribbon bows will save money because they are cheap to make.

Now with these easy instructions you can easily learn how to make and tie a small or big beautiful ribbon bow on every gift you buy or create and every gift basket you make.  You'll save a lot of money too, because big bows are not cheap. You can buy a lot of ribbon with the money you save from making one big bow. You don’t need a bow maker, these are so simple to make.

For colored bows, red ribbon bows are the most popular, followed by blue and yellow bows.  But use any color or pattern ribbon you like.  You can use silk, satin, velvet, wired or any type of ribbon.

Now here are the instructions on how to make or tie a beautiful ribbon bow.

First cut about eight to nine feet or so of ribbon.  Use any type of ribbon, any thickness. But at least one inch is best. Wired ribbon is easiest to work with.

Experiment with different widths using cheap ribbon to get a feel for what works best.  

Try the more expensive wire ribbon when you get proficient.

Now, make a loop over your thumb to make the center of the bow.  If using thin ribbon use 2-3 times the length of your ribbon and make a larger number of loops, otherwise it'll be flimsy.   

Tightly pinch the ribbon and twist it counterclockwise between your fingers and thumb.  The ribbon should have the right side (the side with the pattern, if any), facing out.

Start from the top and work down. Make the loops in the ribbon the same size and return each time to the center.

Slightly pinch and twist each loop under the original center loop and hold this stack with your thumb.  Make sure if there is a pattern on the ribbon that it’s facing out.

The tail of the ribbon should come out the other side with each loop you make.

Continue making loops until you've made a bow the size that you want.

Now, twist a piece of wire around the center of the bow and wind it around tightly a few times.

Twist the ends of the wire together behind the bow and leave enough so you can use it to attach the ribbon bow to a gift, gift basket, Christmas present, birthday present, bottle or any other object.

Now pull, twist and fluff up your ribbon bow and you're done!

If you make a lot of bows you may want to seek out wholesale sources of ribbon.  You can find these on the Internet by typing in the words 'wholesale ribbon.'

Otherwise, you can find ribbon cheap at dollar-type stores.  Costco usually has great wired ribbon selections, especially around Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and other holidays.

Now, knowing this trade secret about how to make florist's bows and with these instructions, you should be able to create, tie and make beautiful ribbon bows.

Bows can be red, blue, or yellow.  They can be made of silk, satin, velvet, fabric or other something else.  They can be wired or not.

Use your personalized bows on gift wrapping for your gifts, gift baskets, Christmas, presents, Christmas gifts, birthday presents, birthday gifts,  bottle gifts and for just about any kind of gift, gift basket or gift wrapped item.

For more information on how to make theme gift baskets and how to start a gift basket business, go to http://www.HowToMakeBeautifulGiftBaskets.com  a website specializing in making gift baskets and gift basket business tips, advice and resources including information on making corporate gift baskets.

copyright©2007 Helen Hecker All Rights Reserved.