Anchors Away Patriotic Hair Bow

Last September marked our very first Bows Show-N-Tell Link Party! This link party was so much fun and so many of you shared your incredible talent with us and linked up your creative, fun, frilly and gorgeous bows in this first ever Show-N-Tell party! A couple of months later, our second Show-N-Tell Link Party launched and it was bigger and better than the first party and there were even more fabulous bows linked up. Today, I am so excited to introduce you to one of the incredible bow makers who has linked up multiple bows in our Show-N-Tell parties and come away a winner multiple times! Mary from Little Mama Bowtique is going to teach us how to make a stacked bow that is one of my favorites and it is absolutely stunning! Enjoy!

Hello Ribbon Retreat Crafters! I am Mary Conway from Little Mama Bowtique and so very excited to be sharing my very first tutorial with you. I love summer, particularly have a soft spot for nautical, so I made a super stacked Anchors Away patriotic bow.

Materials you will need:

Mix of 1.5 in and 7/8 in patriotic colored/themed ribbon
needle and thick thread
glue gun
scissors
lighter
alligator or french clip
lace
3/8 ribbon for lining clip and bow
resins
starch

I always start off with my top bow. I chose to use the 1.5 in cut out stars ribbon placed on top of white grosgrain ribbon to make the stars pop.

Once you have lined up the edges cut them together at an angle and heat seal with a lighter.

I use a cardboard template, just cut out of a box, with a cutout in the middle to create this layer of my bow. My template measures 7 in and makes a 4 in finished boutique bow.

Take the end you just heat sealed and place it on your template.

Wrap around your template twice, place a pin down the center, and cut it at the opposite side you started. Heat seal your ends.

Carefully slide your ribbon off your template, it should look like this:

Bring your inner loops upward, be sure not to let your pin slip, your ribbon should make an X in the middle and look like a butterfly shape.

Take your needle and thread and weave down the middle.

Pull the thread tight and form your bow, wrap thread around your bow several times, finishing with a couple good knots.

Your bow should look like this:

Repeat this process with ribbon for your base (bottom) bow. I chose to do this in just a solid white.

I spray my bows with starch so they hold their shape for a long time. At this point I starched both my top and base bow and set them outside since it was warm and sunny to dry. During the cold seasons you can also place them in front of a space heater or bake them.

Next I made my surround loop bow. I measure the amount of ribbon needed by wrapping it around my template just like the boutique bow above, using just a little less. I chose to experiment with ric rac here, but mostly used 3/8 in ribbon for this step.
This is also a great place to use glitter ribbon and give your bow some glam. Fold your ribbon in half lengthwise to find the center and form a crease, then each half in again to form 4 sections to give you a guide. Bring your first end into form a loop to first crease, then form 3 more loops. Your loops should be as even as possible. Sew in the center once done.

Next we are going to make our spikes layer of the bow. You can measure about 1-1.5 in extra from your boutique bow, which in my case was about 4 in, to determine your spike length. I wish I had cut mine a bit longer for this bow since I added so much detailing. I typically use 8-9 in, with a fun variety of ribbon. I mostly use 7/8 in here, I chose to add 1.5 in to the center for this one.

Next, hold your scissors at a 45 degree angle to the end of the ribbon to create a V cut. Heat seal each V with a lighter.

Next place a pin upside down and arrange your spikes. Start with your middle ribbon and work your way out. This part is fun, because you can design your ribbon and patterns however you please!

Try to arrange them the best you can the way you want them to fan out under your bow. Take your needle and thread and sew down the center, just as you did with your boutique bow.

They should look some what like this.

I decided to add some side bows. I just took one of my spike ribbons and made a simple crossover bow, sewing down the center, and added a resin to the center, we will attach these to the bow later on.

I love lace and ruffles, so I made some ruffled lace by weaving a threaded needle in and out of the bottom of the lace. You can cut your length of lace to whatever you please, but keep in mind it will shrink when you pull your thread to create the ruffles.

Whew, you still with me?!!! We made it to the assembly part!! Start with your base bow and work your way up. Place a good amount of glue with your glue gun on the top center of your base bow and attach your spikes layer.

I like to attach my surround a loop bow to my top bow before I add it on, just be sure to glue center of surround a loop bow to the back of top bow, then you may stack it onto the spike layer as one piece.

Now we should look like this:

Next glue your side bows on.

Take your alligator clip and line it in 3/8 in ribbon.

Flip your bow upside down and attach your alligator clip with your glue gun. Then take 3/8 in. ribbon and attach to your clip center and wrap around your entire bow, bring it back to center of clip and glue to secure.

Flip your bow right side up and attach your anchor or whatever center you choose to place in the middle with your glue gun. There you have it!! Thank you so much for reading my tutorial, happy crafting!

This stacked bow is stunning and absolutely superb! It is festive and so much fun and the coordinating ribbon makes this great bow the perfect accessory to wear with your 4th of July holiday festivities. However, this bow doesn’t only have to be for the 4th of July…make this bow in any combinations of ribbon to achieve your desired Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day or everyday look!

Thank you Mary for sharing this adorable patriotic hair bow with us, and your first tutorial ever! To see more gorgeous bows, make sure to stop by and say hello to Mary at Little Mama Bowtique. Her bows and headbands are stunning and so eye catching!

Whose ready to make some pretty bows? After learning how to make Mary’s Anchors Away bow, I know I am! The Ribbon Retreat has step by step instructions for creating the most basic bows to advanced stacked bows and everything in between! With a little bit of practice and all of our wonderful tutorials, your bow making skills will get better and better and in no time, you will have professional looking bows that turn heads everywhere you go! You can find all of those step by step instructions HERE.

If you are serious about making bows, you will also love these other great tutorials on how to make bows…

How to Make Bows

Spike Bows

Stars and Stripes Bow

What is your favorite bow technique?

Happy Creating & Happy BOWS!