Basic Pinwheel Bow

Hello my crafty friends!  Who's ready to make some bows??
Today we will be making pinwheel bows!  This is an excellent bow to make if you are new to the bow world.  Trust me you will want to start with simple designs first before you jump into all the fancy bows.  Pinwheel bows/headbands make excellent gifts for any little girl from new babies and up!!  Put a few together and make a wonderful gift.

I know that there are a ton of different ways to make a bow such as needle/thread, zip ties, fishing line and wire but I have found that using rubber bands has been the best way for me.  :)
The rubber bands that I use can be found at any Sally's Beauty Supply store.  

For this tutorial you will need the following:

2-4 clear rubber bands 

17" of 7/8" grosgrain ribbon 

3" of 3/8" grosgrain ribbon

glue gun

glue sticks

scissors

lighter

*14" elastic headband

*1" felt circle 

*optional

You will need to 2 rubber bands and your piece of 7/8" grosgrain ribbon for this first step.
Start by folding your ribbon into 3 sections.


1st section is pictured below:

2nd section is pictured below:

3rd section is pictured below:
(Front view on left.  Back view on right.)

Now that our bow has taken it's form you will need to carefully grab 2 rubber bands and place them onto your thumb and index fingers.
 Since I've been making these bows for years I can do this while holding my bow in my left hand.  New bow makers will want to either do this step first or use an alligator clip to hold your bow together while you get your rubber bands first.

Once your rubber band are in place you can begin to carefully wrap it around your pinwheel bow.
Go around 1 time...

2 times......and .....3 times....

This is what your finished bow should look like.  It looks great but not quite finished yet.  Just a few more tweaks to do :)

For this step you will need to carefully grab your bow and slip the top layer of ribbon behind the middle layer so that it will give you a cleaner look.

The 2nd picture here shows you your pinwheel bow with the layers correctly positioned. 

Next we will cut our spikes on the ribbon edges to give it a fancy look. Carefully fold your edge in half and snip off the edge as shown below in the picture.  Once both of your edges are cut you will need to heat seal them so that they do not fray. You can use any lighter to heat seal the ends.  Make sure you hold your lighter a good distance away from your ribbon.   

Lets get ready to cover our center with a matching 3/8" ribbon.  I used a 3" piece.

Partially wrap your 3/8" ribbon around your bow center, covering the rubber bands.

Place a dot of glue on the top of your 3/8" ribbon and gently place it on the center of your bow.  This is being done to the BACK side of your bow.  

DO NOT PLACE GLUE DIRECTLY ONTO YOUR CENTER AS THE HEAT FROM THE GLUE GUN TIP WILL MELT YOUR RUBBER BANDS.  

Now place a small amount of glue onto the 3/8" ribbon so that you can wrap it around the front of your bow.  Once your ribbon has made it back to it's starting point you will need to snip off any excess with your scissors and heat seal the end with your lighter.  

This is what your finished bow should look like!  Great job!!  

If you would like to attach it to a clip this is the perfect time to do so.  

I will be attaching mine to an elastic headband, 

directions for those are below.

Get your headband out and lets place a dime size dot of glue onto it.  

Place your finished pinwheel bow onto the glue dot and press down on it so that it attaches itself to the headband.  

 Now that your bow and headband are glued together we will need our 1" felt circle.  

The felt circle will secure that your bow and headband are held together and do not fall apart.  

Place a generous amount of hot glue onto the felt circle and then place the circle onto the headband/bow center.  

And here it is!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You have officially made a pinwheel bow AND you have attached it onto a headband!  

Now go raid your ribbon stash and make more :)  

Happy Crafting!!

~Jennifer