I worked in a flower shop for two years, and one of my main jobs was making those big, gorgeous bows that flower shops put on everything. And I really did put them on everything! Some days when the shop was slow, I'd do nothing but make bows. Of course, I hated it then, but now I'm glad I had that experience.
While I was at a craft store a few weeks ago I overheard a conversation about bow making, a man had asked an employee to make him some bows and she said she didn't know how, and called over another employee who also didn't know how. So, I thought I'd share my flower shop bow making technique in case you work at a craft store and need to know how to make a bow...
1. Make a circle around your finger. Be sure the ribbon goes around the circle 1.5 times, or it will slip later.
2. Twist the ribbon under your circle, then make a loop, then twist the ribbon when it is under the circle again, and make another loop on the other side (this is if your ribbon only has a design on one side, like the satin ribbon I am using here. You twist so that the pretty stuff is always on the outside. If you're using two sided ribbon, skip the twist.)
3. Continue step 2, making each set of loops a tiny bit larger than the last, until you think your bow is long enough.
4. Cut a piece of ribbon at least 4" long, thread it through your orignal circle and around all of your loops and tie it. If you'd like your bow to have "tails", make this piece of ribbon longer, and the two ends will become your tails.
(sorry no pic, but this step requires both hands!)
5. Fluff up your loops, and pull them into the position that you want them.
6. Cut the ends of the tails at an angle to make a V in them.
that's it. It's pretty simple and once you do it a few hundred times you'll be a pro! When you're first starting out, use wired ribbon. It makes your loops hold their shape better and is so much easier to work with.
