One of my favorite traditions around holiday gift giving is adding a sweet handmade ornament as a finishing touch to the packages for family and friends under the tree. And I can't wait to share with you what I'm making this year - a fabric gift bow that can serve double duty as a beautiful decoration for your gifts and a thoughtful handmade ornament to keep! This clever design looks just like the store bought bows made of ribbon, but so much prettier. Plus, it's a great way to use up some scraps. All the pieces needed are cut from 2.5" wide strips (aka, quilt binding size!), so you probably already have everything you need to make a bow (or a bunch of bows!) in your sewing room.
Ready to get started? Let's go!
Supplies:
- (2) 2.5" x WOF strips (or equivalent 2.5" scraps) Subcut:
(3) 2.5" x 12" strips
(3) 2.5" x 10" strips
(1) 2.5" x 4.5" strip
- 12" bakers twine or pearl cotton thread (for hanging)
- Fabric glue or hot glue
- Safety pin
Instructions:
Fabric Ribbon Construction
Start by folding (1) 2.5" x 12" strip in half lengthwise right sides together. Then sew the raw edges together along the 12" side with a quarter inch seam to create a tube.
Next, turn the tube right side out and press flat with the seam along one side to create a fabric "ribbon" that is approximately 1" x 12". Hint: My go to method for turning fabric tubes right side out is to attach a safety pin to one end of the tube and then thread it through tube pulling the fabric with it. Once it comes out the other side, you can work the fabric all the way right side out.
Repeat this process with all remaining strips to create (3) 1" x 12" ribbons, (3) 1" x 10" ribbons and (1) 1" x 4.5" ribbon.
Figure Eight Units
Take (1) 1" x 12" fabric ribbon and fold into a figure eight as shown in the photos below. Overlap the ends by approximately 1". Center the overlapping portion so that the distance from center of the figure eight to the each end is approximately 2.5".
Then sew a seam across the center of the figure eight catching both overlapping ends and the piece underneath. I recommend backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam to secure.
Repeat process to create figure eight units with all (3) 12" ribbons as well as with the (3) 10" ribbons. The 10" units will have a distance from center to end of approximately 2".
Loop Unit
Take the 1" x 4.5" fabric ribbon and fold in half, short ends together. Sew the ends together with a quarter inch seam and then turn right side out so the seam in on the interior of the loop. Set aside.
Star Units
Take the (3) larger figure eight units and stack them to create a 6 pointed star. Once you are satisfied with the star, secure the layers to one another with hot glue or fabric glue. (Note: I hand sewed these layers together the first time I made this ornament but the many layers of fabric make it very challenging to sew. Hot glue, or fabric glue, will make the assembly much easier and more secure.)
Repeat process with the (3) smaller figure eight units to create a smaller 6 pointed star.
Bow Assembly
Stack the smaller star unit on top of the bigger star unit and arrange to your liking making sure the star points are evenly distributed. Secure the two star units together with hot glue or fabric glue. Then glue the loop seam side down to the top of the smaller star to secure.
Allow the glue to dry completely. Note: Once constructed, if you find that the layers pull apart too much around the edges, add more glue as needed to secure as much as desired.
Once glue is dry, use an embroidery needle to thread bakers twine or pearl cotton thread through one of the outer star points and knot ends together to create a hanger.
Congratulations! Your fabric gift bow ornament is complete and ready to decorate your gifts or hang pretty on your tree. I hope you enjoyed making this project. If you share your completed fabric gift bow ornament on social media, be sure to tag me @abbymaed and use the hashtag #fabricgiftbow so I can see what you make. I can't wait!
~ Abby