Ozaukee - Washington Daily News Graphic

December 2006

Wrap it up! (continued) by Laurie Arendt

Two simple Bows

Caitlin Carroll, a sales associate at Milwaukee's Broadway Paper says that hand-tied bows only take a little effort to look good.

"If we're putting ribbon around a box, we actually do it the opposite of what most people do," she explains. "The 'cross over' that people normally do on the bottom - we do it on the top to ensure that the package lays flat and doesn't wobble."

From there, the ribbon can be tied in a simple bow and the edges of the ribbon clipped with a sharp scissors to create a simple, hand-tied bow.

"Another easy bow we use is what we call a 'bachelor bow'", she says. To make a bachelor bow, start by wrapping ribbon around the gift, and securing at the ends with doublesided tape. It's OK if the tape is showing at the joined spot; the bow will cover this.

Take a length of ribbon and fold it in half to make both ends of the bow. Secure this together with double-sided tape as well. To make the center of the bow, take a shorter length of ribbon and wrap it around the center, securing it underneath with a small piece of double-sided tape.

"The bachelor bow is actually not a tied bow at all, but it looks like it is," she explains.

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