DIY Giant Present Bow

I have a thing about giant bows. Like, you know those ones in the car commercials? I don’t know why I love them so much, but I do. I honestly think if I ever got a car with a big-ass bow on it, I’d be almost as excited about the bow as I’d be about the car. 

I know, I have problems. 

I think it’s one of the reasons that, every year around Christmas, I take a couple of the paintings that hang on our walls and wrap them up like a present, topping them with a big ol’ bow. I love how it looks, and it’s a super inexpensive and easy way to add some fun festive flair to your house, but every year I have trouble finding a bow that I like.

This year, I wanted a red velvet bow to match the red velvet ribbon I had, but all I could find are the kind of bows that go on wreaths — not a big present-type bow. 

So I decided to try to make one. Because that’s how I roll.

And I could not believe how easy it was. I’m super excited, because now that I know how easy it is to make these, I’ve got all sorts of ideas on other ways to make them. I obviously made this one out of ribbon, but you could just as easily make them out of newspaper, wrapping paper, even felt or another thicker fabric. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

For my 14″ wide finished bow, I cut the following lengths of 2.5″ wide velvet ribbon:

3 – 32″ strips
3 – 30″ strips
3 – 28″ strips
1 – 24″ strips
1 – 10″ strip

Once you have all of your strips cut, fold them all in half and crease or otherwise mark the center of each strip.

Starting with the longest strips and keeping the wrong side of the ribbon facing up, twist each end into the center and secure {I used hot glue for the ribbon, but if you’re using paper, you could use double-stick tape}.

Repeat with all 3 of the long strips.

Stack up the three loops and attach them together in the center.

Repeat these steps with the 30″ and 28″ strips. 

Twist the 24″ strip into a double loop like you did with the three outside layers, and make a single loop out of the 10″ strip. Fit these two final strips into the center of the bow and attach. 

That’s it! 

If you want your bow to be a little sturdier, you could glue a felt circle to the back, but I didn’t do that for mine since I was attaching it right to a flat surface.

Like I said, I’m so excited about the possibilities of this. I think it would be such fun to make these out of cute wrapping paper or even magazine strips.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Among others, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”