Put A Bow On It
Stick it in your hair, stitch it on a dress, pin it to your jacket...
Posted by elaineinglasgow
About
Whether you've just started sewing or have a pile of scraps to use up, bows are one of my favourite, and super-easy makes to brighten up an outfit or hairstyle. There are a few ways of making bows, but I always do mine this way - you don't need a pattern and it is so simple.
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You Will Need (6 things)
- Pins
- Needle & Thread
- Sewing Machine
- Fabric Scissors
- Fabric (scraps will do!)
- Brooch Pin or hair clips etc
Steps (12 steps, 40 minutes)
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1
Get a small piece of fabric or fabric scraps. How big a piece you need depends on how big you want your bow to be!
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2
Cut out two rectangles of fabric just larger than you'd like your bow to be lengthwise.
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3
Pin the right sides (the sides you want to show) of the fabric together, leaving a space of at least an inch.
A little note here - if you want your bow to be a bit stiffer, you can also stitch on some interfacing at this point which will help it hold up. I like the way this fabric drapes here so I haven't done this.
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4
Sew your rectangles together using a sewing machine, or hand-stitching if you don't have a machine. Make sure you remember to leave your space!
If you want, you can then finish the edges by stitching round above your seam, using a zig-zag stitch on your machine, a serger or cutting off the rough edges with pinking shears. -
5
Turn your rectangle right side out through the space you left. You can poke the edges out so that you have nice sharp corners. I used my scissors, but you can also try a pencil or knitting needle.
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6
Turn in the rough edges at your space, and stitch up the space you left as neatly as you can.
At this point, I made a slightly smaller rectangle too - it's up to you how many bits you want your bow to have. I like two, but I've made them with one rectangle, three, four... it also depends on how much fabric you have left! -
7
To help go from rectangle to bow shape, fold your bow a couple of times at the centre and pin it down. Then run it through the machine or stitch it by hand to keep your pleats.
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8
Make a smaller rectangle using the method above - as wide as you'd like the 'knot' in the centre of your bow to be. You can use a contrasting fabric, or something else like lace or trim to do this. Stitch your small rectangle into a loop.
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9
Turn your loop right side out so that you can't see the seam.
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10
Now, pull your bow rectangles through your loop until it's sitting in the middle of the bow. This might be a bit tricky depending how flexible your fabric is. It's a knack to getting the loop the right size so you can easily pass this through but it's not too loose.
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11
Pull through a couple of quick hand stitches at the back of your bow to keep the loop in place.
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12
And that's you done! Easy, right? Depending on what you want to use your bow for, you can add a brooch pin or hair clasp to the back, an elastic or ribbon to wear it as a headband, or sew it on to an item of clothing or accessory. I've even attached a little chain before for a bow necklace! For this one, I added a little hair clip so I could wear it on my head.