Easy bows

At this time of year, I think the most important craft you could learn is simply the "art" of tying a bow. There are so many things that would be improved by a simple bow. Right now, I am tying new bows for my outdoor wreaths. I always put these wreaths on my outside windows and a large one on my door.

Unfortunately, my bows really looked bad this year when I took them out of storage, so I am hoping to add a little sparkle by using this shiny, sheer ribbon with wired edges. The up side of this -- these wired-ribbon bows are the easiest to tie. The wired edges just make it so easy.

If you already know how to tie a bow, this post will be a yawner, but for those of you who say, "I just can't do it," take a look and see if this helps.

You will need about 4 yards of wired ribbon for each bow and some florist wire. I bought this at Hobby Lobby. Begin the bows by making loops. If you want a larger, fuller bow you will need more ribbon, just don't cut the ribbon for the first bow from the spool of ribbon until you know how big the bow will be. You can use the first length of ribbon to measure for other matching bows you want to tie.

I made four loops on each side.

Then I made a center loop and held it in the center.

Put florist wire through the center and tie tightly.

Pull out and adjust ribbon loops. The wire helps the loops to stay in place and made the adjustment easier.

I like to fold the ends of the ribbon and cut the ends as above.


I then wire it to the wreath, using the ribbon wire and make adjustments until the ribbon looks like I want it to look.

I think a simple wreath with a pretty bow is a simple and beautiful decoration.