Hi, this is Jeffi. There are a few types of bows I learned to make for Charlotte and some people have shown interest, so I thought I would post the directions here on Charlotte's website. The first type I will talk about are the "corkers" they are the ones in the pictures with curly ribbon and I posted a pink/brown one and a green/blue/white/pink one also. You want to start with ribbon that is 3/8" or 9MM wide and it curls better when it is grosgrain. If it is a see through fabric it does not work well for the curled bows. You also need to buy wooden dowels from Wal-Mart (found in the wood/painting crafts section) or a craft store. And you can choose your size of dowel. I get the one that is about the size of a pencil. You can also use square ones also if wanted. Sometimes you need to cut them when you get home and they should be cut into 12" long pieces. Next, you will need something to clip the ribbon onto the dowel, so I bought those tiny little close pins (see picture) and you can find these at any craft store. When all your ribbon is wrapped and ready to go (make sure you wrap it tight and not overlapping itself), you will spray it with cheap hairspray (I just buy a "to-go" bottle and keep that with my bow stuff) and stick all dowels into into the oven at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.
When done, I stick them in freezer for a quick cool off and then unwrap them carefully. You usually have enough to make four pieces of curled ribbon. I measure them at 2 & 1/2" or 3". (see the example in the picture with brown polka-dots) Once all your pieces are cut, you want to use a little bottle of Dritz's "Fray-Check" and touch the end of each piece of ribbon. (This part is a little repetitive, but very important....you don't want your cute bows to fray.) Once they are all dry, you choose what color combinations you want and use about 7-9 pieces of ribbon for each bow. Lay a piece of string on the table in front of you and lay pieces of ribbon perpendicular to the string and centered on top of it (see picture) then, hold onto each end of the string and bring together in a knot above the ribbon in the air until you have a good hold on it and quickly tie the knot down on top of the ribbon (hopefully you are quick enough so they don't fall out).
Once it is knotted that one time, turn it over and knot it twice to make sure it is secure (the string may break if you are very hard on it) but once it is secure it is ready to be attached to it's clip. I have only found these at Sally Beauty Supply (see picture) First, I like to cover my clip with fabric as seen in the picture (the one I showed is red and has a hot glue spot on it where a bow used to be) and this way the clip is hidden and the bow sticks better to the fabric than the metal. after hot glueing the bow onto the fabric clip, you can either keeo it that way (like the white/green/blue/pink one.....or you can use more ribbon to wrap around the middle of the corker. Divide your ribbon equally on both sides and they can sprout out from either side (like the pink/brown one with polka dots).
The other bows I make I just copied from Wal-Mart. They can be made with wide ribbon at 7/8" or with small ribbon 3/8" or anything in between. I just practiced going back and forth with the ribbon and then squishing it with my fingers in the end and if it turns out cute, I tie string around it and then put another piece of ribbon in the middle around it to hide the string. If you can't do this, the best thing to do it buy a few at Wal-Mart or somewhere cheap and try to copy them. These can be frustrating at first, but don't give up it gets easier each time.
Well, I hope my directions weren't too confusing. I realize it is difficult to describe when you are not face to face with someone, but I thought somebody might benefit. If you have questions please feel free to ask. Happy crafting!
