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Making a Bow. Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office July 2002 Written by Dr. Frank B. Flanders. Probably the most difficult skill that a beginning florist or other plant retailer must learn is that of bow making.
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Making a Bow Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office July 2002 Written by Dr. Frank B. Flanders
Probably the most difficult skill that a beginning florist or other plant retailer must learn is that of bow making. The process looks simple, but is actually very difficult and is learned through many hours of practice. There are several methods of making bows depending on personal preference and the use to be made.
The two methods we discuss here we will call the “thumb” method and “pot bow” method. Let’s begin by discussing the “thumb” method. This method or some variation of it is the most commonly used in the florist industry. Any size ribbon can be used making a wide variety of uses possible. We have arbitrarily assigned the “thumb” method to this ribbon because the process is centered around the thumb during tying.
Florists use ribbon from the bolt as needed but to give you a better idea of the amount of ribbon used, let’s cut about 6 feet from the roll. A convenient way to measure this is to hold the bolt in your hand straight out from your face and pull a length of ribbon back to your nose. Hence the term “nose length.” This is approximately 2 feet and must be repeated 3 times.
This length will make a good size bow for corsages or small pots. Of course, larger of smaller bows can be made using different lengths or widths of ribbon.
Notice that the ribbon has a “shiny” side and a “dull” side.
Hold the ribbon at one end with the thumb and fore-finger of your right hand; shiny side toward you. Hold your left thumb in position as illustrated. Reverse hands if you are left-handed.
Lay the ribbon over the left thumb nail (long side toward you, shiny side up) with about 2 inches above the thumb.
Pull this 2 inch piece under the thumb and to the left with the fingers of the left hand. This forms a loop that will hide the wire later.
Pull the ribbon half way around the thumb, lifting fingers as necessary and holding again. The ribbon should now be “dull” side up and away from your body.
The ribbon must be twisted to have the “shiny” side showing on the bow. Lift the 1st finger, holding with the 2nd, make a ½ twist directly behind the thumb nail and catch with the 1st finger.
The shiny side should be now be up with the twist you just made under your thumb.
Make a loop about 1 to 3 inches in length by pulling the ribbon behind the thumb, lifting the fingers as necessary and holding again. The ribbon should now be toward you, “dull” side up.
Lift the 2nd finger and make a half twist in back of the thumb to get the shiny side up.
Make a loop 1 to 2 inches in length as you did on the opposite side.
To finish the bow, continue this process from side to side, twisting the ribbon after each loop to get the shiny side up. It is not important at this point for the loops to line up exactly or look good. Do not give up!
When you reach the end of the ribbon, one or more streamers should added. Cut a piece of ribbon 5 to 10 inches in length.
Holding the streamer in the middle, shiny side up, crush it into the bow at the bottom tip of the thumb.
Push a piece of wire between the ribbon and thumbnail as illustrated.
Push the end between the 1st and 2nd fingers and under the thumb.
Twist these wires together close to the ribbon until you feel that the wire is holding tightly enough to prevent slipping. Take the bow off your thumb.
Without crushing the ends of the bows, slip your left hand over the ribbon from behind and pull tightly. Twist the wire to tighten the knot.
Looking at the front of the bow, streamers hanging down, take each loop with your 1st finger and shape the ribbon with a snatching/twisting motion. If the loops slip, you have not tightened the wire enough. Go back to that step.
Some florists use only the “thumb” method or a variation of it because it can be used for all florist work, whereas the pot bow has limited use.
One advantage of the “pot” bow is that it is easy to learn how to make, which makes it especially useful for part-time or seasonal help. It is also widely used in garden centers or other businesses where ribbons are often needed. A disadvantage is that it can only be used with a #9 or larger ribbon, making it useless for small work, such as corsages.
Begin the bow by cutting 6 feet (3 nose lengths) from the bolt. Roll this over the left hand, (shiny side up) into a circle about 6 inches in diameter until all the ribbon is in the circle. Reverse hands if you are left-handed.
Fold the two sides to meet in the center to form a figure 8.
Fold this into equal size loops and crease the center with your fingers.
Trim each corner of this creased center with a pair of florist shears…
Slip a florist wire or pick wire between the two loops and pull to the center.
Place the first finger of each hand inside one end of loops.
With the right 1st finger, pull the inside loop out to the side.
Now pull the loop forward and toward the bottom set of loops. This is a critical step. The loop must slip into the notches cut previously. You can feel it as it slips into place.
When it has slipped into the notch, this loop should stand out and be parallel to the top and bottom loops. Do Not proceed until this is done correctly.
With your fingers in the same set of loops, pull a loop out in the left-hand side and snatch it back and into the notch as before.
Complete this end of the ribbon by pulling loops from alternated sides. Now, turn the other end up and complete it in a similar manner.
The ribbon can be shaped if needed by moving the loop with a snatching-twisting motion. If the loops slip, tighten the wire again.
If streamers are desired from this bow, they must be made separately. These are sometimes called “false” or “fake” streamers.
Cut a piece of ribbon about 20 inches for a 6” pot, or other length depending on size of the pot.
With the shiny side up, grasp the ribbon in the center of its length and make small gathers, until you hold the width of the ribbon accordion style between your fingers.
Pull the two streamers, ends down, to form an up-side-down “V”. Roll the two sides of the center of the ribbon together to form a tip suitable for wiring.
Wire this tip with a pick wire or florist wire making sure streamers remain in desired position.
