Holiday Inspired Burlap Bow Tutorial

I learned a lot from my mom when I was growing up. She encouraged me to be creative and be myself in everything I do. She gave me the confidence to turn my vision into something tangible. Because of her I am a maker, a creator, an experimenter. With that said, I know what I am good at and I know what I am not so good at. Well folks, bow making is one of those things I’m not so good at. I have tried. Lord knows I have tried, but to no avail I always end up angry with no bow.

How do you do it mom?!?! Tell me! I swear she is a magician! Well, I’m not a magician, so I had to get creative. If you feel the same way about bow making, but still love them, then I am about to make your day!

See this bow? Or should I say faux bow? Yeah I made this. Bonus, there was no looping, knotting, or cursing taking place while doing it. 😬

Now it’s your turn!

Materials:

1.75 yards of 2.5 inch thick wired burlap ribbon
Scissors
Glue gun & glue sticks
2 – Rubber bands or hair ties

Tip: I would recommend purchasing a spool of ribbon. I purchased a 25 ft spool for $5.50 at Joann Fabrics. You don’t have to purchase the entire spool, but I would highly recommend Buying ribbon that has wired edges. Wired edges will make it so much easier to reshape the bow after it’s been packed away for a few months. I made this bow three years ago and it has held up beautifully.

Step 1: Cut the burlap into the desired lengths. I made my bow for a 26 inch wreath so I decided on these lengths.

4 – 10 inch
2 – 8 inch
1 – 5 inch

Step 2: Take two of the 10 inch pieces and fold them in half then overlap the two folded pieces. There should only be about 1 inch of overlap. Note, only do this for 2 of the 4 10-inch pieces. The other two 10 inch pieces are for the tail of the bow.Step 3: Using a rubber band or in my case a hair tie and wrap the band around the center where the pieces are overlapping until you can not wrap the bands anymore.

Tip: I didn’t have rubber bands on hand so I improvised. I would recommend using rubber bands though. Only because the nude color blends in better with burlap.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 & 3 for the 8 inch pieces.

Step 5: Place the 10 inch banded piece on the table upright, apply glue on the band, then set the smaller banded piece on top of it to secure them together. The bands should be touching each other (centered).Step 6: Take the 5 inch piece and fold the edges down (this is the center of the bow and will hide the rubber bands). Attach one of the ends to the back side of the bow with glue.

Step 7: Wrap the 5 inch piece around the center. Make sure to wrap it somewhat tight, but not too tight. Once you are happy with the placement, glue the back. Cut off any excess of the 5 inch piece.Step 8: Take one of the two remaining 10 inch pieces and fold one of the ends. While holding the end together, take the scissors (starting at the end with the two edges) and make a diagonal cut upwards. Do this for the last 10 inch piece as well. These two make up the tail of the bow.Step 9: Lay the tail down with the back side facing up. Take the other end of the tail and fold both sides in making a triangle. Glue it down. Repeat this for the the other tail piece.

Step 10: With the right side facing up, apply a small amount of glue to the peak of the triangle end of the tail and attach the center of the back side of the bow. Repeat this for the second tail piece.Step 11: Let the glue dry, and shape your bow as desired. You’re done!I glued my bow to my DIY wreath, but you could do so many things with this bow such as use it as a Christmas tree topper, for a table settings, or attach to a lantern to give it that holiday touch. The possibilities are endless! I would have to say this is one of the easiest DIY projects I have ever done. It took me about 15 minutes to complete and the clean up was easy!