Tutorial: fabric bows!

Making fabric bow brooches is so easy and funny that I decided to write a tutorial for those people who want to try to make one of these cute things (and two, three, four... it's addictive, believe me!).

 

Please, if you follow my tutorial, write a comment to this post and share with me a link to your bows! I will be very happy to see your creations! :)

 

Are you ready?

Let's go!

(click on the photos to enlarge them and see all the details)
 

 

 

PRELIMINARY STEPS: Preparing materials and supplies

1. Materials: two stripes of fabric for the bow, one for the central knot, a security pin.

Fabric stripe's measurements can vary; my pieces are approximately cm 16x5 (bow) and cm 3x5 (knot) and the finished bow is cm 8x3,5.

2. Wrong side together, sew the bigger stripes on long sides

3. Then turn inside out: you have a sort of fabric tube. Press it with your iron to have a rectangle.

4. Prepare the central knot: fold the fabric like in the photo and press.

5. Then sew along both the long sides.

 

MAKING THE BOW

6. After marking the middle on the back of your rectangle, fold it like in the photo and stop it with a seam.

7. Fold in the way you like best

 

Now it's time for hand-stitching! :)

8. Stop the bow with some stitches by hand. Be sure your bow is strong before going on.

 

FINAL STEPS: making the central knot and adding the pin

9. Fix the knot with some stitches on the back of the bow and roll it around. Don't cut the thread, you need it for step 11.

10. The central knot isn't only decorative: as you can see it hides all the raw edges of the fabric and the seams. Also the knot as raw edges: fold inside the free end to hide them.

11. Fix with invisible stitches the central knot to the bow.

12. Add a security pin on the back.

 

The fabric bow brooch is finished:

 

OTHER IDEAS / VARIATIONS

- you can make the central knot in an easier way with a ribbon, like I did fot the lilac bow

- you can fold the rectangle in different ways: you can see one of them in the lilac bow (same fold in the front and in the back). Look for other bows in Etsy or with google images to be inspired! 

- if you haven't a pin with holes to sew to your brooch, you can use a common security pin: insert it between step 10 an 11.

- you can make monochromatic bows, if you prefer. But if you use a printed fabric for the bow, a central knot in a contrasting color is a good choice, expecially if it has a color that matches with the fabric of the bow (in my brooch: little red details on the bow and a red central knot).

-  of course fabric bows can be used not only to make brooches! Fix them on your hair clips, sew to the neck of your Teddy bear to give him a nerd look, use them to decorate you home... endless possibilities, as usual!

 

The brooch made by me for this tutorial is in my shop, in case you like it and have no time to make one.