How to Tie the Perfect Bow

Tying the perfect bow is a great way to make you gift-wrapping look professional and perfect. Knowing how to tie the perfect bow can be useful in many areas. From gift wrapping to crafts. We can all buy those pre made bows, but for some reason a hand tied bow is the perfect finish to a special gift. This hand tied bow is also perfect to top a Christmas tree off with. It works well on a holiday wreath and almost anything that needs a bow.

To Tie the perfect Bow You Will Need:

Ribbon (Recommendations can be found at the bottom)
Floral Wire
Scissors

To start you need to cut your ribbon. I like to cut mine about eight feet long.

Start making small loops. Start about 10 - 12 inches in from the end of your ribbon. This will leave you with a 10 -12 inch tail. Each loop should be about 10 inches long. Fold the ribbon every ten inches to make a loop. Twist the loop immediately after forming it.

Once you have made 12 10 inch lops you can secure them with your floral wire. In the middle of al the loops, you will have six loops on each side, tie the floral ribbon securely around the middle of the ribbon. After you loop it around the center twist it until it is secure. I like to twist y floral wire about ten times. The floral wire will allow you to shape your bow perfectly.

Pull, twist and fluff your ribbon into shape.

Finally, to finish off tying your perfect bow you need to trim the tails. I like to fold the end of my ribbon in half and cut in at an angle. The high point of this angle should be at the center of you ribbon. For a more simple look you can simple cut the end of your ribbon at an angle.

Tips for Tying the Perfect Bow:

-Use ribbon that has floral wire built into the edges. This will help immensely when you start to shape your bow. The wire will hold your perfectly tied bow in exactly the shape you want. You can shape low flat loops or high thinner loops. It also helps control the ribbon while you make your loops.

-Silky or flimsy ribbon is not for beginners. The loops can easily flop around and be difficult to control.

-I like to practice on wide raffia or paper ribbon. It holds it shape the best and can be a lot easier to handle. Paper ribbons are often less expensive making them a great affordable way to practice tying the perfect bow.

-Wide velvet ribbon is perfect to tie the perfect bow with. It holds its shape and comes in a large selection of colors.

-These instructions for tying the perfect bow works well for gift-wrapping ribbon as well. If you are using thin ribbon you will want to make sure you double or triple the length of your ribbon so you can make a larger number of loops. Thin ribbon will look completely flimsy and cheap if you don't make extra loops.

-Your ribbon needs to be at least 1 inch thick to get a full bow with these instructions.

-Tie the perfect bow in thin silky ribbon in your school colors and hot glue them to hair barrettes and you have cute accessories for your kids!