How To Make a Rockin’ Cheer Bow
I love a good craft,*and lately I’ve been all about making bows. So, I decided my daughter’s team needed giant cheer bows. And, because I’ve learned the importance of research when it comes to hand-making stuff, (seriously, you can save loads of cash with a simple google search) I tried to find out how to make the perfect cheer bow.
Well, I ended up at the yellaribbon site. Get it? Cheerleaders yell—so they wear yellaribbons? I’m not going to lie… I love a good play on words. They have the ultimate cheer bows there. They’re sparkly, shiny, and sure to give your girls 1000% more pep.** You can see my favorite one here. I did an internet search for “how to make a yella ribbon” and when that didn’t turn up anything… I realized I was going to have to teach myself. Now I know how to make the cutest cheer bow ever, and I wrote up this little tutorial (aside: did you know they call them “tuts” on craft sites? Why do I hate that so much?) and you will too.
***Don’t forget to click the pictures to see a larger version***
Why yes, yes internet–I am aware that my daughter looks like a tiny beauty queen here, but she really loves cheering… so I just pretend not to notice.
First, we need to cut the ribbon.
- You need two pieces of 7/8″ Ribbon
and one piece of 1 1/2″ Grossgrain Ribbon
, all three should be 30″ long. Don’t worry about making the ends cute yet–we’ll get to that.
Now, it’s time to sew the ribbon together.
- Don’t put the ribbons on top of each other. Instead, lay them side by side and use a little zig sag stitch to grab the edges of both ribbons. You’ll have to play with your machine a bit to see which setting is best, but I had mine set at 1.5 for both settings. This step isn’t an absolute necessity, but these are cheer bows, and the last thing you want is for them to break apart mid-competition.
Don’t worry that they’ll be all wonky looking when you’re finished.
- Just try to keep the stitch as straight as you can and grab both ribbons. It doesn’t have to be perfect–we’ll cover the front part with fabric later–but the stitch will show on the back of your bow, so don’t go crazy or anything.***
Iron your new giant ribbon.
- This is my favorite part–which is weird, because normally I hate ironing.
Okay now it’s time to add the awesome.
Lay out the super shiny fabric you’ve chosen for your cheer bow.
- (Hint: most cheerleading uniform companies use Mystique Spandex
**** on their uniforms- so if you can’t find something to match at a craft store, you can probably find an exact match online.)
Now, you have two choices here, you can either iron Heat’n Bond Strips
- I suck at the rotary so I needed the guide the pre-cut strips provided for me–but you can do it either way.
Lay them down on the back of your shiny material and iron them on.
- Now you just have to cut out the strips. (I did several at a time so I didn’t waste a lot of material.)
(Don’t panic, I didn’t turn into a dude or anything–he’s just better at cutting straight lines than I am.)
It’s time to iron on the strips.
- You don’t want to put your iron directly on the spandex, it might melt. So use a towel or cheesecloth in between. It doesn’t have to be fancy–you’re just trying to keep the fabric from ruining.
Do them one at a time!
- And do it a little piece at a time because spandex stretches when it’s hot–it also gets WAY hot super fast, so BE CAREFUL! When you’re done with one side, it should look like this:
Now, you can flip it over and iron the heck out of it.
- I had my iron set to cotton, and it worked just fine–even with the ribbon that had the ironed on dots. You want to make sure it sticks really good, because in a minute we’re going to be squishing things thing all over the place, and you don’t want it to come apart.
Cut the ends into fish tails.
- I recommend folding it over like this:
And cutting at a diagonal.
They should come out pretty even.
- Run a lighter along the edges to prevent fraying. I’ve tried several different methods (fray check, wood burner, etc.) but I always go back to the lighter. Just be careful not to melt your spandex too much.
Now, fold your ribbon in half and put a dot in the very middle with a pen or a marker.
- Just be careful not to let it bleed too much. (My fingers look crazy weird in this picture–what gives?)
We’re going to use a template to make the loops, but you don’t have to.
- These are so easy to make. Just take a piece of cardstock and cut it to 7″ x 10″ then cut a tiny strip in the middle. It just has to be big enough for you to see the dot you made.
Now, fold the ribbon over and slide it off the template.
Once you’ve done that, squish your ribbon together.
- Now, when we put the zip tie on, it already has a memory of how it’s supposed to look.
Wrap a zip tie around the middle and pull it half way tight.
- Leave enough room so you can move the ribbon around to shape the bow. If you mess it up, just cut off the zip tie and start all over.
Once you have the bow looking exactly how you want it to, use pliers to pull it super tight.
- Make sure the big part ends up on the back of your bow, toward the bottom–that way it won’t show through anywhere.
Cut the end of the zip tie.
- This is what your bow is going to look like, so if you don’t like the shape, then don’t use any glue until you’re satisfied.
Now, we need to hot glue the ponytail holder
- Don’t use the thin ponytail holder
- I recommend Scunci No Slip Ponytail Holders
, but they’re sort of expensive–so if you’re making a lot of these, you might want to just go with a regular scunci ponytail holder that doesn’t have any metal.
- Once you have that glued, let it sit until the hot glue is dry, that’s an important part of the bow–you want to make sure it’s on.
- I usually dab a little more hot glue on top to make sort of a seal.
Now, take about four inches of 7/8″ ribbon.
- Heat seal the ends and tie a little knot in the center.
Hot glue the center knot to the front of the bow.
- I always do this part first so I don’t have to worry about the knot ending up at the wrong spot on the bow.
Use as much hot glue as you can without it squirting out the sides and making a big mess to wrap the ribbon around the bow.
- Do the bottom first, then the top–that way you won’t have the edges sticking out of the top of the bow–it will be on the lower back where no one can see it.
Here’s the finished bow!
Don’t forget to make some for the rest of the team–you don’t want your daughter to be the only one with a totally awesome super cute cheer bow, now do you?
@Jamie Harrington, I love making cheer hair bows they are sooooooooooooooooo cute on your little girl. She is so adorable
Thanks so much !!! This was an amazing tutorial and everyone thought I was so smart…. I made them for our cancer awareness game….. Pure genious you are !
Thanks so much for this – I actually put the hair tie inside the zip tie (eliminating the hot glue step). I used binding to keep the glitter ribbon the grosgrain one. So cute!
I love it thanx for sharing it
hey if i wanted to skip the sewing option what would you recommend to hold the ribbon together?
Hot glue, fabric glue, spray glue or heat n bond?
thanks!
Awesome!!!!
Thanks so much!!!
zip tie= Brilliant, I was having trouble getting the scrunch, never thought of a zip tie!!!!
Thanks so Much!!!
Thanks for the detailed information! I am currently making some for my daughters, however, I am wondering if you know how to make them stiff, so they don’t flop around. I used the heat bond and the loops and tails are still floppy. Any ideas?
@Robyn, I’m a cheerleader and my mom makes bows a lot. She swears by spray starch. It looks like a can of spray paint and you can buy it at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s and Michael’s.
What Did you use the spandex for, I am kind of lost at that step.
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions! I have 60 bows to make before a competition on Sunday, don’t know what I would have done without you!
I am a cheerleader is their a simpuler way to make one?? Thank you….you are SO creative
@Emily, did you check out my youtube videos for easier ones? http://youtube.com/thejamieharrington
I am a little confused on the bonding of the spandex, is that like sticky stuff and then the heat from the iron seals it? Thanks! Oh and have you bought the spandex online before? i was wondering how the edges already look finished in yours, did you have to do anything to the spandex?
@Nicole, It’s this stuff called heat ‘n bond. It’s not sticky until you heat it up, then it just sticks it to the ribbon.
I didn’t do anything to the edges of the spandex to make them look finished– it’s almost like t-shirt material in that it can look finished without anything done to it. 🙂
@Jamie Harrington, where did you get the spandex?!?!
lol oops all kind of typo’s in that last post sorry. I’m using my phone with a swype keyboard and it has a mind of its own.
hey!! from one cheer mom to another your now came out great. I was wondering what type of sewing machine fo you use. because I make all sorts of bows and recently made some got my cousins team and made them last year for my daughters team. anywho a sewing machine will be a god send lol but I don’t know anything about them. I need one that would do that zig zag stich thing lol please help me!
thanks
@lakisha, I just have a simple singer sewing machine. It was just a little over a hundred bucks, I believe. I only use it for bows, though… so I didn’t need anything fancy. 🙂
U are wonderful. I needed 22 quick bows for a BBall game tomorrow and without you I would have been a hot mess. I did not have any zip ties tonight and I am in a hurry so I used the wire out of the extra ribbon I had. I also was only making a standard bow to get us by til our backorder comes in. I book marked ur site and will use in the off season to make amazing tuts because of you. I send pics! Thank for saving my rear tonight…
thanks Jamie, you rock!!
I have a question about the spandex, after you cut it do you fold it so the edge is smooth or does this spandex material look like a finished edge already. does this material fray along the edge? thanks for this tutorial
@Shawna, It looks like a finished edge already, so you can just leave it. That’s what I did, and that’s what they do on most of the bows I’ve seen at the cheer competitions. (I always stop the girls and check out their bows.)
These are cut can i use this idea???
@Hayley, YES!~
How would you recommend attaching the ribbon when you are only using one wide ribbon and one smaller patterned ribbon?(wide light blue, thin polkadot)
@ALyssa, I’d probably still sew it. is that what you mean?
What else besides spandex can you use??
and where do you get your ribbon from for this bow?
wear do you get the sparkly fabric?…im trying out and these bows are A-MAZ-ING!!!!
P.S. Luv the instructions!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
@FunnyBunny217, you can get the fabric at Hobby Lobby– take a 40% off Coupon. BUT– Now Michaels has glitter ribbon that you could use as well– just treat it like the fabric. GOOD LUCK!
@FunnyBunny217, you can see the glitter ribbon I am talking about in this video: http://www.youtube.com/thejamieharrington#p/a/u/1/N40ZU_QNSxU
Really wish I had found this site a month ago!! Would have saved my mom’s some money. ;O) I’ll be trying this out in the off season so I can get just the right bow for next year! :O)
thanks!! ive been looking for a step by step to make my squads bows and this was sooo helpful!!!!! 🙂
Thanks – this was super helpful. I made pink “breast cancer awareness” bows for practice and they turned out great. I used sparkly pink ribbon in place of the spandex and it looks really cute!
@Donna, thanks for tht because I wasn’t all up for going to try and find spandex!!!!
Can u do a clip instead of the pony tail by glueing it or sewing it on
Hey-
Great bows!!! I make them too and hadn’t thought about the zip ties. That’s great.
Question though…..
I make the bows were you glue a shiny Mystic Spandex onto 3″ grossgrain and I am having problems finding the right glue that stays adhered to the spandex and doesn’t bleed through.
Do you have any suggestions besides heat and bond strips…. they peel apart on the spandes and the full sheets make the bows too stiff…
Thanks for the info
@Amy, I use fabric glue when I make mine. Also, I do put my pony inside of my zip tie. Works great.
@Gina, True that