All About the Bow
Bows, as innocuous as they seem, are an intrical part of every wedding celebration. Very few weddings get by without utilizing this simple decor and apparel enhancing embellishment.The first step to learning how to create the perfect bow is understanding the many different types of bows that exist.
Pew bows, which can also be used as chair bows, and as the bows that finish off a beautiful sash, utilize the standard one loop method we use to tie our shoes. While most create their own hanging down sashes in the tying of the bow, for a cleaner more professional look, you can also use an additional sash that you loop over the center knot to create two equal ribboned tails.
A Floral bow, used as bouquet and centerpiece accents, as well as in a number of other decor enhancements, is one which contains a variety of loop sizes. The large loops exist on the outside edges of the bow, gradually getting smaller as you move in towards the center. They can be created with as few as four to eight loops or with as many as twenty or more. Spreading the loops around can influence whether the shape takes on an oval appearance or a round one, and while it looks like many different ribbons are used in the creation, it only takes one (long) piece of ribbon, looped over and over again to create these multi-purpose bows.
Layered bows are similar in look to the Floral bow, but are larger and more expansive, as the name suggests, by layering or stacking many floral bows together. The benefit of this bow is that two or more different colored ribbons can be used to create a unique and colorful arrangement.
Puffy bows are the type that adorns many gift-wrapped gifts. Created by wrapping the ribbon around your fingers uniformly, the size of the bow can be influenced by spreading your fingers wider, or holding them closer together, while the fullness of the bow is influenced by the number of times you loop the ribbon around them.
Tailored bows are neat, flat-like bows that work well adorning programs, guest books, baskets, favor boxes or any other place where a more expansive bow accessory might otherwise be damaged or too intrusive. While slightly more expensive, these bows are best created with two sided ribbons, so that one singular piece of ribbon can be used. With single sided ribbon, the effect can still be achieved but it is created from individually sized loops stacked upon one another. The benefit of this technique is that you can set up an assembly line of sorts when creating, whereby the length of ribbon per stack is kept uniform.
If not the crafty sort, there are many pre-made bows or pull-bows on the marketplace that can do the trick, but remember, there will probably be at some point on your wedding day an inevitable moment where a bow tying skill will come in handy.
©2008 Weddingstar Inc.
