Using just florists ribbon, they are unbelievably cheap and very easy to make. With practice, you can make a bow in just a couple of minutes, but allow a reasonable amount of time to work through the instructions for the first time.

These instructions will make a medium sized bow (approximately 4" diameter), but at the bottom of the page we explain how to vary the proportions and mix colours if you enjoy making them and want to do more.

Step 1: You will need: Florists Ribbon, Double Sided Tape, Scissors, Tape Measure, Pin, Sticky fixer (optional)

Step 2: Cut a piece of ribbon about 5" long. Use this piece to measure and cut another 4 pieces of ribbon, so that you have 5 pieces in all. There's no need to be too precise, just as long as they are roughly uniform in size.

Step 3: Roll out some double sided tape. Don't remove the backing yet, and don't cut it from the roll either. Lay the ribbon pieces out on the sticky side of the tape, not quite using half the width of the tape. Butt the pieces up together, keeping them reasonably straight. You should now have something looking similar to this picture. Now cut the tape from the main roll and trim the edges neatly to match up with ribbon edges if needed.

Step 4: Fold the pieces over into loops, sticking them down to the midpoint of the tape. Fold all 5 loops, and finally fold the remaining double sided tape over until you have something looking like this.

Step 5: This is the fun bit! Take the pin (a nice big pin is easiest to handle, but even a dressmakers' pin will do). Holding the first loop over two fingers, stick the pin into the ribbon and make a small rip about one eighth of an inch into the loop. You will find that the ribbon splits really easily into nice straight pieces.

Keep going, making a split every eighth of an inch or so until you have split each loop. It should now look like the picture on the left

Step 6: Now rip it up! Take the first loop and pull the split piece away. You will find that a thinner loop splits away naturally. You can split it as far down as the tape will allow. Keep pulling loops apart, and you will end with a long fringe made up of lots of little loops. It sounds like lots of work, but it's very quick and easy. Try not to crease the loops closed at the fold, have a couple of fingers inside the loops as you pull them away to keep them uncreased.

You will finish with a 'fringe' that looks like this.

Step 7: Peel the backing off the double sided tape. Starting at one end, simply roll it up, like making a swiss roll. You need to make sure the loops don't get stuck to the tape in the process, and keep the bottom edge as straight as possible, otherwise this bit couldn't be easier.

When you've rolled it all up, you have the finished bow, it just needs a bit of 'playing with'. Cut a very thin strip of florists ribbon and wrap around the outside of the stem to finish it off, then hooking your fingers through the loops, pull and tease them out until your bow looks beautifully rounded and the outer loops come right out and cover the stem.

If the 'stem' is nice and level, you will probably find there will be enough 'sticky' on the bottom  to attach the bow to most gifts. If not, you can either use a bit of double sided tape flat on the bottom, or if the bow is extra large or really must not become detached, cut a piece of sticky fixer to size and attach to the base.

You can vary the size and style of these bows infinitely - make the loops longer than 5" for a larger bow, or use more pieces of ribbon to make a wider, fatter bow. The example using two colour ribbon above was made by rolling up two fringes together so that the two colours are evenly distributed through the bow.

You can even make them out of cellophane film (good solid colours or iridescent films work well), or they look spectacular made out of 'foiled' wrapping paper, ideally with colour on one side and silver on the other. To make them like this, just cut a 5" strip to the length you choose, fold it in half lengthways and secure it to the tape. Instead of using pins to split it, simply cut it to a fringe with scissors, and make the bow up in the same way.

Happy bow making, and look out for more great makes coming soon! We will shortly be posting more guides including:

Traditional Handmade Florists Bows