Besotted with Bows

Bows. Like many crafters, I have a love-hate relationship with them.  I would hate to count the hours I have a faffed with a bit of ribbon that is tormenting me with it's wonky loop or tail.  That said, I wouldn't be without them - whether on cards or in hair, made with ribbon, paper or fabric, there is something so prim and pretty about the perfect bow.

Fabric and card Bows

I started a little bow factory at Christmas making lots of shiny and sparkly bow hair clips as presents for the little kiddos in my life.

I bought my supplies from GlitterGlitterOnTheWall.  Beware, this site is amazing and you may find your cart growing uncontrollably!

Download your free SIlhouette cut file or PDF here

Click on image to download free Silhouette Cut File or PDF

I thought I would be able to cut the chunky glitter fabric with my Silhouette Cameo, but no dice.  I could barely even cut it with my crazy sharp big fabric scissors!  Instead, I printed out my templates onto A4 sticker paper, stuck this to the underside of my fabric and cut out by hand. 

Other felt back fabrics, leatherettes, paper and card are of course fine with the Silhouette.  Below are photos of some bows I made from a fab glitter wallpaper that cuts like a dream.  I haven't even gotten around to buying a full roll yet as I'm still going strong with just the couple of small sample strips I got from my local B&Q store!

Karen's Perfect Bows

Now let's move on to ribbon.  A friend that I met on my favourite facebook craft group makes the most adorable bows.

Courtesy of Karen McCarthy from Karamac Krafts

We pestered Karen for the secret to her perfect bows and she kindly photographed all the steps, so I converted them into a wee video:

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Flat Knots for the 'Bow-Impaired'

One of my favourite ways of decorating a gift is by faking a bow with a reef knot.  It is quick, uses very little ribbon and is simple and stylish.

Here's the video that I follow.  My brain annoyingly refuses to store these simple steps, so I have to watch the video every single time!

Origami Bows

I decided to have a shot at making an origami bow and found a good YouTube tutorial.  The steps are easy once you've practiced them a few times, but I found it a bit more complex than other origami designs.

Great Bow Shops

If you're short on time and would rather buy a fabulous bow instead of making it, I have a few shops that I can recommend.  Karen from the ribbon tutorial runs Karamac Krafts, Margaret Read owns Daisy Dots Boutique and Laura Patterson runs L & A Bespoke Designs.