Bows made from grosgrain ribbons are popular decorations for hair accessories, clothing, shoes and haberdashery. Made using fairly simple templates, such products hold their shape well, do not crumble, and can be combined with any decor options.
Material Features
Grosgrain tapes are strips of fabric made from polyester with a strong plain weave and edges treated to prevent fraying.
Well-shaped material:
- can have a width from 0.2 to 7 cm;
- It is distinguished by a variety of shades and can be produced both in a monochrome version and with a printed pattern;
- has a smooth, sometimes perforated, edge with additional decorative elements.
Bright bows that retain their original appearance for a long time are widely used for decoration:
- hair accessories and hairstyles;
- casual and formal wear,
- shoes;
- pet clothing, wool and collars;
- hats, winter caps and children's panamas;
- women's bags and children's backpacks;
- gifts;
- men's shirts as a replacement for a bow tie.
Materials used
Professionals recommend using 15-30 mm thick grosgrain ribbon to create bows. Products made from such material will hold their shape well and are suitable for decorating accessories of any size. Thinner material is quite difficult to work with, and thick ribbons are not suitable for beginners due to the peculiarities of focusing attention on possible defects of the finished product.
Other materials used:
| Scissors | Experts recommend using sharp tailor's scissors when cutting. They also advise keeping manicure scissors on hand to help cut out small details. |
| Hot glue gun | It is recommended to fix parts and decor with hot glue, which will make the work much easier and avoid the appearance of “dirty” spots. |
| Cardboard | Used to make templates for future bows. You can also draw the stencils you like on paper or tracing paper, but then transfer them to a thicker material. |
| Pins and clips | They help to fix the desired shape of the future product. |
| Sewing soldering iron, lighters | They are needed to fire the material and prevent it from becoming friable. |
| Additional elements: | · sewing accessories (threads, needles); · decorative elements (cabochons, rhinestones, glitter); · measuring instruments; · base for the product (clips, hairpins or elastic bands). |
Simple bow
A simple, voluminous bow is quite easy to make and is made from:
- 2 cm grosgrain ribbon;
- a sewing iron or a lighter;
- cardboard;
- scissors.
When working on a product, you need to:
- Cut a strip of cardboard that is larger than the length and width of the desired product.
- Place a ribbon twisted into a ring over the template (the number of turns can be any and depends on the splendor of the finished product).
- Carefully remove the resulting ribbon coils from the cardboard and tie them in the center with a thin ribbon (thread).
- Treat the free ends of the tape with a soldering iron (lighter) and tuck them inside the rings or, if desired, release them outside.
- Straighten the resulting turns of the bow.
You can also make such a product from two pieces of grosgrain ribbon, for this you should:
- Take 2 pieces of fabric in contrasting (or matching) shades, measuring 15*2.5 cm.
- Scorch their ends over an open flame using a lighter or soldering iron and fold them in half, determining the middle.
- Place the prepared material on the table with the wrong side up, place its edges on top of each other with a slight overlap and sew with stitches of the same size.
- Place both pieces together and tie with a thread, forming a knot. Place it on the front side and fix it with glue.
- Cut a strip of ribbon 0.3-0.5 cm wide and wrap it around the bow blank.
- Sew a piece of felt to the back of the accessory and attach an elastic band (clip).
- You can decorate the bow with rhinestones or beads by placing them on hot glue.
On an elastic band
Bows made of grosgrain ribbon are used to decorate hair.
Attached to an elastic band, this accessory beautifully complements the hair of a 5-12 year old girl gathered in a high ponytail or braid and is made from:
- 2 rep ribbons: main (width 4.5 cm) and additional (width 1 cm);
- scissors;
- chalk;
- soldering iron or candle;
- with a thread and needle of a matching color;
- rubber bands.
When working on the product you will need:
- From the main material, cut 2 strips: 3.5*45 cm and 2.5*37 cm, and then cut them in half.
- On pieces with a width of 3.5 cm, mark 50 mm with chalk on each edge, and then roll them up, aligning the marked areas.
- Pass the needle through the basting, determine the center of the tape and stitch the piece.
- Do the same with the second piece with a width of 3.5 cm, then sew both parts together in the middle, wrap the attachment point with thread and secure it with a knot, forming a bow.
- Sew a small bow from pieces of ribbon 2.5 cm wide, then place it on the large one, stitch in the middle and wrap with thread to secure the product.
- Form the center of the product from a thin ribbon and tie it into a knot. No need to tighten it.
- Place an elastic band on the back of the bow, wrap all parts of the product with the middle and sew them.
If desired, you can decorate the bow with rhinestones or a cabochon.
Volumetric bow
A voluminous bow on an elastic band can be made from pieces of grosgrain ribbon (0.5 cm wide) in 7 different shades.
Also used for work:
- scissors;
- soldering iron or lighter;
- a rectangle cut out of felt;
- hot glue gun;
- hair bands.
During the work process you should:
- Cut the tapes into 60-70 multi-colored strips. Connect the ends of the pieces and process them with a soldering iron.
- For the base of the bow, prepare 2 felt circles (4 cm in diameter), coat them with hot glue and attach the ribbon parts to them. The colors can be arranged in any order so that there are at least 22 petals on the 1st circle and 16 on the 2nd.
- The 3rd row is formed from 10 petals, and the remaining ones are glued in the center of the product.
- An elastic band needs to be attached to the back of the felt base.
Ready.
For hairpin
Bows made from grosgrain ribbon are attached to hair clips or hairpins.
You can make such a product yourself using:
- 2 multi-colored (matching or contrasting) grosgrain ribbons, 1 and 2 cm wide.
- with scissors;
- with a fabric soldering iron or a lighter.
When forming a product, it is necessary:
- Cut the wider ribbon into 15 cm pieces, fold them with the ends overlapping and sew in the middle.
- Connect the centers of the blanks, form a 6-point bow from them and sew it together.
- You need to do the same with a smaller size tape.
- Sew the resulting bows so that the larger bow serves as the base of the product.
Bows from grosgrain ribbon for hair clips - an easy way. - Glue a small circle cut out of felt to a hair clip or barrette, then apply hot glue to it and attach the bow to the hair clip.
- You can decorate the accessory with glitter by sewing it to the center of the product.
From narrow ribbons
Spiral bows for decorating hairpins are made from narrow rep ribbons of various shades. Such accessories retain their original appearance for a long time and can be used to decorate children's hairstyles.
The product is created from:
- 5-6 multi-colored grosgrain ribbons - 0.5*70 cm;
- wooden skewers (sticks);
- clothes pegs.
When working on a product, you should:
- Twist the ribbons into a spiral diagonally, completely wrapping the wooden skewers and securing their ends with a clothespin.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil, place the prepared pieces on it, place in an oven preheated to 100﮿C and bake for about 30 minutes.
- After the specified time, remove the ribbon, cool and carefully remove the resulting spirals from the skewers.
- Gather the finished spirals into a bundle, sew them together and attach them to an elastic band (hair clip). To fix the blanks on the hair clip, it is recommended to use hot glue and a base cut out of felt.
- You can also fix the spirals in a pot of hot water, securing the material not on wooden skewers, but on plastic cocktail straws. When working on the product, you should:
- Use scissors to make cuts along the edge of the tube, insert the tape into it and carefully twist it in turns around the model. To create spirals, you can use either material cut into pieces or cut it off from the common reel after the tape has completely wrapped the tube.
- The finished spiral needs to be fixed with a thread. For one bow, 10 spirals need to be made in the same way.
- The tubes wrapped with tape should be placed in a pot of water, brought to a boil and cooked for about 10 minutes. If desired, the blanks can be pre-wrapped in cling film, which will prevent the tape from getting wet.
- The tubes boiled in water should be taken out, placed on polyethylene and left to dry. For a faster result, you can dry the material with a hair dryer.
- After the tape dries, the spirals should be carefully removed from the tubes, folded in half and cut in the middle. It is recommended to singe the resulting cuts with a fabric soldering iron or a lighter.
Gather all the spirals together on a thread, sew to an elastic band and spray with hairspray. It is recommended to fix large bows on a pre-prepared felt base.
Ready.
Using a template made from ribbons of different sizes
Bows made from grosgrain ribbons in the shape of 7-pointed stars can be made using a 7-pointed stencil.
You will also need the following for the job:
- fabric soldering iron or lighter;
- thread with a needle;
- hot glue gun;
- rep ribbons of different shades (width 0.5-1 cm).
In progress:
- Prepare 3 seven-ray cardboard stencils of different sizes (the difference between them should be about 1-1.7 cm).
- Singe one end of the tape, attach it to the center of the template and gradually wrap it so that the intersecting turns are located only on one side of the template.
- After the template is completely filled, the end of the ribbon should be singed with a soldering iron and the bow should be fixed with central stitches. The resulting blank should be carefully removed from the template, having first bent it.
- In the same way, you need to make 2 smaller bow pieces.
- Place all 3 pieces on top of each other and sew or fasten in the middle with hot glue on the wrong side.
- A voluminous rhinestone or cabochon can be placed in the center of the product.
- You can add variety to the product using satin, nylon or brocade ribbons of different sizes.
On September 1st
Bows made of grosgrain ribbon for September 1 are made according to a template and are used to decorate elegant hairstyles of girls aged 5-10 years.
This product is formed from:
- U-shaped cardboard template;
- white satin ribbon - width 3 cm;
- rep ribbon - 0.5*60 cm.
- soldering iron or lighter;
- scissors, threads to match and a needle;
- a circle cut out of felt with a diameter of 20-40 mm;
- plastic cocktail straws;
- rhinestone or cabochon.
When working on creating a bow, you need:
- The satin ribbon should be placed at a slight angle on the cardboard template (wrapping it 2-3 times).
- Cut the remaining ends of the material at an angle and process them with a soldering iron.
- Carefully sew the bow through the slit, capturing all the layers, remove it from the pre-bent template and, pulling the thread, fix the folds.
- Cut the cocktail tubes at the top, place the end of the grosgrain ribbon in the cut and carefully wind it around the base, forming a spiral. At the end, the part needs to be secured with a clothespin or thread.
- In a similar way, you need to prepare 6 identical spirals, place them in a pan with water and cook after boiling for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the hot spirals from the water, place them on a plastic bag, dry them and carefully remove them from the tubes.
- Using a needle, collect dry spirals on a thread and sew them to a satin bow.
- On the back side of the structure, glue a small circle cut out of felt for subsequent fastening.
- You can decorate the finished bow with a rhinestone or a shiny cabochon placed in the center.
Bow tie
Bow ties made of grosgrain ribbon are made using the popular kanzashi technique, complemented with lace and used to decorate blouses or school dresses (suits), as an elegant alternative to a regular tie.
To create such a product you will need:
- rep ribbons: dark blue or black - 2 cm wide, and white (cream) - 1 cm wide;
- hot glue gun;
- thread with a needle and scissors;
- decorative elements.
When making the product you need to:
- Cut 6 pieces from the dark blue material: 4 pieces 7 cm long and 2 pieces 13 cm long. The cream ribbon needs to be cut in half so that each piece is about 6.5 cm.
- Treat all ends of the bow parts with a soldering iron.
- Connect two black stripes together crosswise to form a bow, secure it with hot glue and sew.
- Place white stripes on the dark 7 cm long sections and secure them to the sides of the bow.
- Combine 13 cm long black strips, cut at the ends at a 45﮿ angle and sew to the wrong side of the bow.
- Decorate the center of the product with a cabochon attached with glue.
- To attach the bow, you need to sew or glue a piece of felt, 4-5 cm in diameter, to its back side, apply hot glue to it and attach it to the tie clip. You can also sew the bow to a neckband made of grosgrain ribbon.
For the New Year
Bows made from grosgrain ribbon can be used to decorate a Christmas tree, gifts or New Year's costumes, and to create such a product you will need:
- 7 pieces of multi-colored ribbons of the same size;
- narrow ribbon of a contrasting shade;
- sewing accessories;
- sewing stump;
- rhinestones for decorating the product.
During work you need to:
- Fold each of the ribbon sections in half. Cut their ends diagonally and then melt them with a soldering iron.
- Using a needle and thread, thread the ribbon pieces one by one through the middle, then pull and secure the thread to form a bow.
- Wrap the finished product with a narrow contrasting ribbon (0.2-0.3 cm wide), form a knot in the center and secure it with hot glue on the back side.
- Decorate the finished bow with rhinestones. Attach a felt base to its back side.
How to attach bows
Felt is used to attach voluminous bows made of rep ribbon. A circle with a diameter of 30-50 mm should be cut out of the material sold in A4 sheets and attached to the back of the finished product. In its center, 2 slits of 6-7 mm in length are made, into each of which the ribbon is inserted so that a small loop remains on the outside.
When attaching a bow to an elastic band, you need to:
- Thread it inside in advance, and arrange the cuts parallel at 0.5 cm intervals.
- Bring the edges of the ribbon out to the back of the circle and glue the elastic to the felt.
- Trim the ends of the tape and glue them with a hot glue gun.
When attaching a bow to a clip or barrette:
- A circle and a rectangle are cut out of felt.
- Both of them are fixed to the clasp with hot glue.
- Excess material is removed.
The headband or clip can be secured using an elastic band:
- In the felt circle you need to make 4 identical slits (2 on each side).
- Insert the edges of the elastic band into them and secure it with glue.
Bows made of rep ribbons are bright and original decorative elements used to create accessories for hair, shoes or haberdashery. Simple to make, they can take various forms, be complemented with rhinestones, satin, brocade ribbons or sequins, decorating both everyday and festive looks.
Video about making bows from grosgrain ribbons
How to make bows from grosgrain ribbons: