100 Things 2 Do: How to make a bow

Madison saw some gorgeous bows at Michael's a couple of weeks ago and immediately she wanted one for her hair.

At $25 per bow, I couldn't justify it - particularly since she wanted a Hallowe'en one (which has a shelf-life of a week or two tops).

Instead, I let her choose out a Hallowe'en ribbon and I sought out a tutorial on how to make something similar.

I'll start with the video, because I'm not sure my photos do it justice:

Here we have the broken headband that I'm going to "upgrade". I kept the original bow that came on it so I'd have an idea of size for the new bow.

Step 1 - create a loop about 6" in to the ribbon. (the video says to put the loop at 3" longer than you want the tails to be - for me, that equalled 6")
Make a bubble and then twist it.

Step 2 - create a loop on one side of the centre bubble. When the ribbon comes back to the centre point it will be with the pattern facing away from the front of the bow. Twist it at the centre point so that the right side is facing up again.

Repeat this step for as many loops you want you bow to have - each time twisting at the centre point to bring right sides up again.

Step 3 - you can tie your bow with floral wire or string, or what I did, was use an elastic band. I simply cut the band and tied it tightly around the loops and through the centre of the bubble.
(I didn't want wire coming loose and digging in to Maddie's head and I wasn't confident I could get the string tight enough without another hand helping to hold the knot)

With wired ribbon you have the benefit of fluffing and primping the bow into the exact shape you want and it will stay in place. Spread your bow loops out and puff them up until you have the desired look.

The one on the left is a three-loop bow (three loops on each side) and the right is 4 loops.
The video says you can go up to 6 loops if you really want a full bow.