How to make a bow for flower arrangement

Hi folks! I’m popping in with a special Saturday afternoon tutorial to share how to make your own Floral Arrangement Bows. It’s a trick my mom taught me from her days running her own florist shop and it’s been really helpful it making my own arrangements look more professional.

I featured these bows in yesterday’s tutorial on How to Make a Holiday Flower Arrangement with Real and Faux Greenery. They add a lovely bit of colour to the arrangement and are much easier to make than you’d think.

To make these bows, you’ll need ribbon, floral wire and floral tape. For one arrangement, you’ll likely need one large bow and three smaller ribbon loops with tails.

The ribbon loop and tail picks are great for adding touches of ribbon throughout the arrangement.

For one ribbon loop, cut a piece of ribbon 12″ long with a “v” cut on one end. You’ll need a 6″ piece of floral wire too.

Fold the ribbon so that there is a 5-1/2″ long tail and create a loop with the remaining 7-1/2″ of ribbon.

Pinch the base of the loop with your fingers and twist. Wrap the wire around the end and secure in place.

Wrap the base of the ribbon with floral tape, stretching it as you wrap around the wire. The adhesive in floral tape is activated when it is stretched.

When you’ve wrapped the end, snap the floral tape to release it. Now it’s ready to be put into the oasis of your arrangement.

I still love the look of one big loopy bow on top, with long tails cascading down the arrangement.

Cut a length of ribbon 40″ long and cut the ends into “v”s. About 6” in from one end, start to make your loops.

Make a loop, pinch it and twist. Then start another loop in the other direction, pinch and twist.

Continue to pinch and twist until you have as many loops as you’d like. The pinching and twisting is what gives the bow the “poofiness”. Hold the ribbon in place at the center as you get the wire.

Wrap a 8″ piece of wire around the centre to secure the ribbon in place.

Use floral tape to secure the wire at the base of the bow.

Fluff the loops of the bow and then insert it into the top of your arrangement.

I hope this tutorial helps you with your own floral arrangements. They’re so much fun to make and a great gift idea during the holidays!