Christmas Ribbon Bow Trick

Have you ever made a ribbon bow to use to decorate your house for Christmas? If it was not wired ribbon or velvet ribbon, did the loops flop down when you envisioned them staying upright and perky?

Well if this has happened to you, I am sharing a ribbon bow trick. It is really easy.  I am going to show you just how easy.

This Christmas, I decided I am going to do more of the enjoying part and less of the pressured, stressed and frazzled part. :-)

One way I am doing this is putting the holiday decorating focus on a few parts of my house instead of decking the halls from top to bottom.

Keeping it simple will give me more time to enjoy all the season has to offer. Like watching Christmas movies, baking, strolling through pretty shops and maybe even taking a nap while listening to my favorite Christmas tunes as the sun sets and the Christmas tree begins to take on a magical glow.  This to me is pure bliss!!!!  I want it to last.

When we moved I gave away quite a bit of holiday decor and only kept a few bins of mostly ornaments and tree lights.  I found I have been liking the look of keeping things simple and as natural as possible.

I posted about the mantel in my living room earlier this week.  Yesterday I hung a fresh cedar wreath on the mirror across from it.

The wreath is from Lynch Creek Farm and is a beauty. It also smells wonderful.

The photo above is from the Lynch Creek Farm website and shows the ribbon bow that it comes with. It is pretty and well made, but you know me, I like putting my own style on everything.

I removed the bow and added one I made using wide red velvet ribbon I bought recently at HomeGoods.

I love the velvet ribbon, but not the fact that it is not “wired-ribbon”. When making bows, wired ribbon is the way to go since it creates perfect full loops that stay in place. When ribbon doesn’t have wire, it makes limp bows.

I really wanted the look and texture of the red velvet for the room so I had to do a little DIY’ing on the ribbon. I made the bow as I usually do.

You can find out how I make them in this post: How to Make a Ribbon Bow. 

I hung the wreath using ribbon like I showed how to do in this post: How to Hang a Wreath with Ribbon

How to Use Un-Wired Ribbon to Make a Fluffy Bow

Sorry I don’t have a “before” photo to show you how the loops hung lifeless before I added some DIY fullness to them.

If you ever made a bow with soft, non-wired ribbon, you know that the loops simply hang and don’t look very festive.

Here is the easy fix.

supplies needed:

• Velvet ribbon – 48″ for the tails. I folded in half- 24″ for each tail. The loops – 16″ of ribbon so that each loop is about 4 inches wide and 6″ for the middle to tie the loops and tails together.
• White glue or fabric stiffener
• Paint brush
• Water
• Plastic Grocery Bags

1. Mix a tablespoon of water into 6 tablespoons of white glue. Mix it well and then brush it onto the inside of the bow’s loops. Make sure to saturate the inside of the loops. It will dry clear.

2. Stuff the loops with bunched up plastic produce bags.  Tie the bow onto the ribbon that the wreath is hung on and let the glue dry overnight.

3. When glue is dry, remove bags and loops will stand on their own. The bags will not stick to the glue and will be easy to remove.

Much better. :-)

If you like this tip, check out what I did on my foyer staircase.

More Ways to Decorate With RibbonSaveSave

• How to Make a Ribbon Bow
• How To Make A Ribbon Bow The Easy Way
• How to Hang a Wreath With Ribbon
• Decorating Ideas Using All Kinds of Ribbon