Make This:

Vintage Style Asymmetrical Bow

This post may contain affiliate links - read the disclaimer.

I spotted a really interesting asymmetrical bow in a reprint of an antique book on apparel trimming. It seemed like such a nice detail for a headband, hat, or even a well wrapped package. There were, of course, no directions on how to make it, so I spent some time working with different proportions and came up with this version (and included some measurements so you can make the same thing.)

Supplies:
– 1.5 inch wide ribbon
– needle and thread to match
– fray check (or a flame for carefully melting the edges)
– sharp scissors
– ruler

 

If you find ribbon that is a different width that you want to use for this just keep the percentages the same – a 1 inch wide ribbon would make all of the other dimensions adjust to 66% of their current size, for example.

The black lines in this image indicate where I cut the ribbon, the blue lines indicate how far I folded the end back.

 

Cut your ribbon and fray check/seal the ends.

You may want to pin the loops in place to double check the look before you sew them in place.

Sew across the ribbon near the end of the straight cut with a running stitch. If you’re using a thick ribbon you’ll want to take longer stitches.

Pull the stitches up and tie in place. Repeat for the other loops.

Stack the loops and stitch them together through the gathering line. Cut another piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around the gathered point, seal the ends.

I folded the wrapped piece in half because I thought it looked nicer, sew it into place on the back then tie off your threads.