Project: DIY Fabric Bows

DIY fabric bows – it took me so long to find a decent tutorial and the ‘how to make a perfect bow‘ from Sutton Place is just the one I was looking for! Check out her tutorial – I followed it almost to a tee. A few tips along the way, things that I did differently, and a few things I learned.

What You Need

Fabric – about 1/2 a yard
serger
machine
matching thread
pins
iron
ironing board
floral wire – optional
glue gun – optional

First, the tutorial I linked to above used ribbon. No me, I’m using fabric since I couldn’t find ribbon I liked. I cut my pieces the same size as suggested in the tutorial.

36 inch piece
24 inch piece
6 in piece

Tips

use fabric
top stitch items in place
press well

The next step – roll hem the 36 and 24 inch pieces.

Then, take the 24 inch piece and fold it in half, overlapping 1 inch. Top stitch in the middle.

Fold the 6 inch piece in half, meeting the ends in the middle. I rolled the hem on these and then realized after you’d never see the edge, so that was a wasted step. Then, top stitch each end.

Next, take the 36 inch piece and accordion the middle and pin. Top stitch in the middle to hold the folds.

Lay down the 6 inch piece vertically, right side down. Then, place the 24 inch piece on top. On the bottom, place the folded 36 inch piece. Be sure all right sides are facing down.

Fold the 6 inch piece over.

Serge and you’re done!

Looks pretty, right?

For fabric that’s a little more limp (the tan ones were made with weighted cotton like linen), you can use your glue gun and glue in a few pieces of thin floral wire to make the bow standup better. It all depends on the look you’re going for. I did this trick on a couple of them.

Such pretty fabrics!