It was a while ago now, someone asked me if I made my own bows. At the time I didn’t think too much about it. I usually bought kits from Bra Makers Supply, and they always come with a bow. So I didn’t think I needed to make my own.

Then I had a weekend with a professional Bra Maker, Jane, and I took a few things away from that weekend. One of them was how I attach my straps – it’s forever changed since Jane showed me a slightly different way. You can read about that here.

The second thing I took away from that weekend, is when Jane said to attach bows to the center front and also over the seams where the straps join the cups. I LOVE that look. So, I’ve been doing that since then.

Well, that means that one little bow isn’t enough for me now. I do have a small stash of bows, and I do mean small. I probably have a dozen or so. And not many of them are the fancier bows – the ones with little pearls on them. You know that moment when you see someone’s stash and envy it? I experienced that when Jane pulled out a large plastic bag of bows. Oh my!

Since then I’ve been looking for bows. I’ve been looking on eBay, and haven’t been able to find the mini bows with pearls, or in colors I’d like. So I kept looking.

A site I came across, which unfortunately has been taken down. However, I had a screen shot of what you start with:

To the finished bow:

She also suggests wrapping ribbon around the elastic or sewing a pearl on.

Another great source is this video. I used both the fork, and my little cardboard template, and I must say I go back to the cardboard. I find it easier.

These were the exact style I was wanting. I went to the fabric store to buy ribbon to start, and the fabric store is not the place to buy ribbon. Michaels was much more economical. They had three out of the four colors I wanted.  I’ve also been looking at some pretty, and probably more-expensive-than-I-need Swarovski pearls to attach to the bows. I haven’t bought those yet, but they’re saved in my ‘want to buy’ folder.

So now I have an option for making my bows. And just in time for making bows, a very generous gift of ribbon and some lovely lace. I’d mentioned to a friend how I couldn’t find one color, and look what she sent me. I don’t think I’ll run out of ribbon any time soon. Thank you, Naomi.

Happy creating!