Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi. Iím Laura from Hair Hardware and today Iím going to show you how to make a big,
sparkly cheer bow like this big bow you see right here. The materials that Iím going
to use are two and a quarter inch wide black Grosgrain ribbon and this Iíve cut to 30
inches long. Iím going to use sequined fabric that I have already prepared into strips with
Heat n Bond adhesive already ironed to the back. We sell these at Hair Hardware precut
into strips like this to make that process easier for you.
Iím also going to use a zip tie to secure the center. I have a piece of three-eighths
black Grosgrain ribbon for the center as well. Iím going to also include a white PonyO and
I do use the ones that have the metal clamp to hold it together because Iím actually
going to put this inside the zip tie to hold it in place like that and you need the metal
clamp for support there. You donít have to worry about damage to the hair with a metal
clamp because weíre going to cover that with a ribbon as well.
Iím also going to use a long needle to help us keep the ribbon centered before we crease
the middle and then Iím also going to use this template right here that I made with
template material that we have available at Hair Hardware. Itís a thick plastic. Iíve
cut it seven inches across and it is ten inches tall and then I also made the slit down the
middle exactly halfway so that you can line up the center of the ribbon and you will see
how we need to use that in a few minutes.
The first step Iím going to do is Iím going to iron this sequined fabric to the center
of this black Grosgrain ribbon and we sell it this way at Hair Hardware. This is actually
sequined fabric that is sold by the yard and what we do is if you wanted to make this yourself,
you would iron Heat n Bond adhesive to the back of the fabric and then you would cut
it into strips however wide you need it for your project.
For this bow, I cut it to one-inch wide and when you do that, you just ñ the paper on
the back peels off which exposes the adhesive that you can iron on to your fabric. In this
case, itís the ribbon. So Iím going to go over to the ironing board and Iím going to
glue this on or iron it on just in the center.
OK. Now here on the ironing board, what Iíve done is Iíve peeled the entire backend off
of the sequined strip and Iíve placed it exactly on the center of my ribbon and now
this kind of fabric and a lot of fabrics that you will use on your cheer bows, they cannot
be ironed directly because they will melt. If you use Spandex, itís going to melt. These
little sequins that are glued on to the glittery fabric here will melt if you put your iron
directly on and to cure the adhesive, you have to use a hot iron. I have mine set on
cotton and I turn the steam off. So thatís pretty hot and it will melt that if I put
it directly on.
So what I use is this material. This is called a splat mat and I like it because itís non-stick.
I can use it over and over again and I just place it on there. If I happen to get any
*** from the glue on here it wonít ruin it. It just will come right off. Nothing sticks
to this. Even a wood burner will not damage this surface.
So what I do is I just put this right over my ribbon. I place it on top and I hold it
for two seconds and then I just move it down the entire length of the ribbon.
OK. Now that youíve ironed the sequined material onto the ribbon, you can get ready to fold
it. Now what youíre going to do, this is where youíre going to use your template.
Youíre going to take your ribbon. Youíre going to fold it in half and then youíre
going to take a pin or in this case Iím using a big needle, and youíre going to stick it
just in the center fold of the ribbon like this. If I was using a lighter-colored ribbon,
then I could have just marked it. But since itís a dark ribbon, it would be hard to see.
So youíre going to put the ribbon exactly so that the center point is coming up through
that slit that you made and basically what youíre going to do, I will show you first
like this and then I will actually do it. Youíre going to take the ribbon and youíre
going to fold it over like this and like this to make an X. The template keeps your loops
even and then we will secure the center with a zip tie.
So what Iím going to do is Iím going to take this. Kind of hold it like that. Bring
the first loop around. Pierce it straight down the center. Bring the other loop around
and pierce it straight down the center. Just be careful you donít get yourself there with
a pin. You donít have to use that but it can help you keep the center nice and even.
After you do that, you can slide your template out and you can also remove the pin. Just
make sure you have a good grip on that.
Now to get the center right, what youíre going to do where you see the X right here,
this is the front of the bow. Youíre going to fold it back like this and then youíre
going to fold each side back up like that. So that it should look like this. I know itís
kind of hard for you to see but it should look like that. Just make sure you hold your
center nice and tight and you donít let anything slip or you donít lose that center point.
Now this is where youíre going to hold it together with a zip tie and the zip ties work
really well because with cheer bows, you tend to have a real chunky center with lots of
layers of fabric and ribbon and it can be really hard to tie and sew through that and
zip ties are real strong. Itís going to hold it forever.
What Iím going to do is inside the zip tie, Iím going to put this PonyO in. So Iím going
to put this in and make sure that the metal is going to be behind the zip tie. So Iím
going to put it in. Iím going to close the zip tie like this and Iím not going to pull
it super tight yet. Iím going to pull it so that I have some room to adjust. Thereís
still some play in here.
That way I can make sure that the PonyO is centered exactly where I want it. I will turn
this around and make sure that my loops are even and theyíre how I want them to look
and you also want to check your center. You want to make sure that the middle of the ribbon
is ñ like I like to refer to the center section as having peaks and valleys, like a mountain
range. The center should be a peak and then you should have a valley and then the bottom
and the top should be peaks again and that will give you a real nice-looking, neat center.
So I have the center exactly the way I want it. So now Iím going to take that zip tie
and Iím going to pull it tight. You can even use pliers for this if you want to make sure
that itís super, super duper tight.
OK. So Iíve got my elastic in there. I got my zip tie and Iím going to take my scissors.
Iím going to trim the zip tie and just make sure that you donít leave a real sharp piece
back there. If you donít cut it right, that can make kind of a sharp piece and I do tend
to turn that down so that itís not straight in the back.
So, now we can do the center and for the center Iím just going to use a piece of three-eighths
Grosgrain ribbon and Iím just going to glue it straight around. Iím not going to do a
knot or anything. Itís just going to be flat across the center of the bow like that.
So what youíre going to do is youíre going to take your glue gun and youíre going to
put a glob of glue on the back like that. Then youíre going to take the three-eighths
ribbon and just place it directly on the glue and what I like to do is I like to wrap these
around twice and that way you make sure that you cover the back of the zip tie and it wonít
go through the ribbon or anything like that.
So wrap around twice. Trim any extra and then youíre going to glue that into place like
this. Just put a little bit of glue on the back and you have your PonyO and you have
your bow and now we just have to trim the tails.
Now the tails for this bow that I did are the fishtail ones with the V-cut. You can
make angle cuts, straight cuts, however you want to make them, however the cheerleading
squad that youíre making these for prefers it.
So Iím just going to make fishtail ones to match the center bow. So what Iím going to
do to make those, what you do is you fold the ribbon in half like this and then you
take your scissors and you cut like that.
You have your first fishtail and then youíre going to do it for the other side the same
way. If you want to make sure you get exactly the same length, you can match up. You can
either measure to begin with or you can take the piece you cut off and you can measure
that against it, fold it in half like that, like you did the first one and cut like that.
Youíre also going to want to take something like either a lighter or a wood burner or
if you want to use a solution like Fray Check and treat the ends so that way these cut edges
wonít fray. Thatís how you make a cheer bow using sequined fabric strips, a template
and a zip tie for the center.