Seasons > Christmas > Decorations for the home > How to Decorate a Wreath > How to Make a Bow
The last loop should be one small one in the middle. Fasten the whole bow with florist’s wire--through that small middle loop and around all the other loops in the middle. Twist several times in the back to secure the bow. If the wire is long enough, you can use the ends to fasten the bow to the wreath. If not, use another wire to fasten it on to the wreath.
Hold the ribbon above the wreath or swag to determine how much length to leave for the ends that hang down from the bow. Holding it up to the wreath will also help you determine how long to make the first loop, which will be the longest on each side.
From that middle point, start building the bow one loop at a time, alternating sides--first left, then right.
The most important technique is to twist the ribbon in the middle--one complete flip each time you return to the middle. If you have trouble holding it all, you can use clothespins or clamps to help you. But once you get used to it, you can just hold it in the middle.
Make the next 2 loops on both sides one or two centimeters shorter than the first loop on each side.
The first loop has been completed on both the left and the right sides.
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Make the next 2 loops on each side one or two centimeters shorter than the two loops before them on each side.
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Don’t forget to twist the ribbon each time it crosses the middle.
Making two loops the same length on each side enables you to pull one loop up, and the other loop down when you fluff out the bow at the end so the bow will be symmetrical.
Keep repeating this pattern until the remaining ribbon is slightly longer than the very first “tail” you left loose at the very beginning.
For large bows (5 meters) alternate the pairs of loops that are the same length with single loops, so that when you pull the pairs up and down, there is the single loop remaining in the middle. The pink arrows show where the single loops should go.
Fluff out the loops with your hands. If you use ribbon with wire in the edges, you can shape each loop, and it will stay right where you want it to be. Be sure to reshape the bow each year when you take the wreath or swag out of storage, since it gets smashed and doesn’t look very good as is.
To finish the bow, cut the ends of the ribbon that hang down--they can be the same length, or two different lengths, but they should not be too different. To cut a “V” shape (bow on left), fold the end of the ribbon in half and cut from the middle to the edge (photo on the right.) It also looks attractive to be cut at an angle (bow on right.)
Seasons > Christmas > Decorations for the home > How to Decorate a Wreath > How to Make a Bow
For a large wreath, the ribbon needs to be 5 yards long, and for the small wreath, it needs to be 2 yards long.
To make a pom-pom bow, make all the loops the same length.