Keeping it Simple

creating simple crafts, DIY, recipes and more

Tutorial Tuesday: Ribbon Bow Tie

by 34 Comments

One of the hardest things about having three boys is that I can’t make them things to wear. Even if I did sew, a shirt for a boy is not nearly as cute as a dress for a little girl. I love all the headbands that everyone makes but I think that it would be frowned upon if I put them in my boys’ hair :). Anyway, when I saw how easy it is to make bow ties out of ribbon, I was SUPER excited. I made three in one night! This is perfect because I have a ton of ribbon that I never use, so it was just great. It took a matter of minutes to make to make a ribbon bow tie.

Here are the directions to make a ribbon bow tie.
1) Using a thicker ribbon, mine is 1 1/2″, cut two pieces, one 8 inches, one 2 inches. You can adjust the length if you want to make one for an infant or an older boy

2) Fold the longer ribbon, so that the end meet in the middle. Over lap the ribbon about 1/4″ and then sew through all three layers with a needle and thread. You will be using the needle and thread through out the whole process.

3) Take the shorter piece and fold the sides in and overlap them in the back.

4) Making sure the overlap of the ribbon is facing the bow tie, wrap around larger piece and sew the two end together.

5) Using a smaller piece of ribbon 1″ or less, measure the neck (with the collar) . I sewed the ribbon onto the bow tie. Sew or hot glue velcro on both sides of the ribbon.

My boys LOVE them. My oldest two have been wearing them non stop. They like to put them on and pretend that they are going to work. They even put them on while they were wearing Star Wars costumes (they are silly boys!).

Here are some more boy ideas:

Velcro Tie

boy ties (1)

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. oh wow this is adorable!
    we are adopting and of course i dont know if we will get the blessing of a boy or girl… of course there are so many girl crafts and such and i am always looking for boy goodies too!
    thank you so much for this tutorial it is going into my very limited but growing boy ideas!
    many blessings

  23. Found you through 'Making the WOrld Cuter' and I'm so glad I did! My husband always talks about when we have kids, dressing our boys like this… He will LOVE this idea 🙂 Thanks!

  32. Thanks so much for these super-easy bow tie directions, Kaysi! I need to make 4 bow ties for my daughter's first grade play next week, and these are just the thing to keep me sane since I still have to sew and craft some other items for the play.

  33. Wow! You are a lifesaver! I don't have kids, but I do have a photography project due very, very soon. The subject? My cat, who needed a bow-tie (don't ask, we artists are strange creatures…)! I was without money (still am), without transportation (still am), and without any sort of formal wear for Orion. But then you saved the day! He looks utterly dapper in his fancy neckwear and I just know this photoshoot is going to be perfect! 😀 THANK YOU!

  34. I thank you for sharing this wonderful idea, I have 2 grandsons and we are getting a family photo done, I searched hi and low for something even close to what the colors are and couldn't find anything, so I decided to Google how to make a bow tie and your site came up. I bought the material that I would need and within 30 minutes I had 2 very Handsome bow ties that cost just a few pennies to make. After the photo was taken several family members asked me how did I find 2 bow ties in such short time, so I told them and they all said Bravo to the nice lady that saved the day and made our family portrait come out gorgeous.
    So I thank you very much for your wonderful idea, I really think you should add this idea to U-tube, if you have any other great ideas I would love to see them. I love doing crafts.
    Have a great evening . Joanna

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