DIY a Bow Maker – It’s Easy!

The easiest way to make a wreath bow is to use a bow maker. In this post I’ll describe how you can DIY a bow maker. If you are a crafter you might already have the supplies you need . Do you struggle with making bows? I sure do and the arthritis in my hands makes bow making even more challenging. If you can relate to my bow struggle, keep reading to learn how make your very own bow maker.

What is a bow maker?

There are lots of different types of bow makers. At the time of writing this post, they range in price from about $10 to over $40. The bow maker I “duped” is a board about twenty inches long and 2.5 inches wide with a couple of long pegs in the middle. You may have seen pins on Pinterest like this one, showing how you can make beautiful bows with them with out having to have a tight grip on the ribbon the whole time.

What you need to DIY a Bow Maker

Here is what I used to DIY my Bow Maker:

• Packing Tape
• Ruler or Tape Measure
• Pen
• Number Stickers (optional)
• 3 pieces of 1/4 inch dowel, 8 – 12 inches long
• Foam Core Board (you will need to cut 6 strips, 20″ long and 2.5 inches wide)
• Cutting surface
• Craft Knife or finger blade

How you DIY a Bow Maker

1. Cut 6 strips of Foam Core Board, 20″ long and 2.5 inches wide
2. Use a pen and ruler or tape measure to mark one strip as shown in the picture below.
   1. Draw a line down the middle of the strip.
   2. Measure in 2 inches from one end and make a line across the strip, measure in 4 inches from the same end and draw a line across the strip.
   3. Begin at the other end of the strip and mark a line across the strip at every inch until you reach the lines you already drew.
   4. Use the tip of your Craft Knife or finger blade to make three small + at the points shown in the picture.
      • Make one + where the line going down the middle and the line drawn 2″ in (Picture B) cross
      • Find the line that is 8 inches in from the other end and make a small + 3/8″ above the line down the middle and another small + 3/8″ below the line down the middle
   5. Stick your pen through the foam core board at the places where you cut the +, do not make the hole bigger than your dowel. The dowel must fit snugly. Add number stickers as shown in the picture below.

3. Use the strip you just made the holes in to mark 3 more of the strips to have holes in the exact same places. Make the holes in these strips using the same method described above. The three strips will look like the one shown in the picture below.

4. Now you should have six strips and they should look like the strips shown in the picture below. Stack them in the order shown in the picture below. Begin with the two whole strips, then add the three with holes in them. The strip with the markings should be on the top.
5. Insert the dowels in the holes to make sure the holes are lined up correctly. Leave the dowels in the holes.
6. Wrap strips of packing tape around the stack of foam core board strips.
7. Make a wreath bow with your bow maker (Instructions are below.)

Now, head over to this post to learn how to make a wreath bow using this DIY Bow Maker.