Make Your Own Rag Bow!

Hello friends! So today I’m going to show you how to make this EASY and really cute rag bow! This seriously might be the shortest tutorial I’ve done so far….that’s how quick it is to make this…haha! But the end result is sooo adorable.

I wanted to make some cute July 4th decorations for my shelf above the couch, and made this bow to go on one of them. You can see which decor piece I used it on in this post here. And if you want to see how I made the Wooden Star in the above picture, you can see it here. Feel free to use whatever colors or materials you wish (the ideas are endless), but here is what I used to make mine…

It’s literally like three different things! You’ll want some jute (of course b/c I’m obssessed), scissors and a few different types of fabric or ribbon. I used some scrap fabric that I already had on hand. You’ll want different prints or textures.

If you don’t have any (and don’t want to spend alot of money) some ideas would be to use old clothes that you don’t wear anymore, old decorative cloth napkins, old curtains, pillows etc…basically anything with fabric if you get my drift!

This first thing you’ll want to do is cut up your fabric or ribbon pieces into strips. Don’t worry about measuring, just eyeball and cut them around an 1″ to 1.5″ inches wide, and make them long enough to form the size bow you want. If they are not all the same length, it is FINE! We are going to trim them up later. 🙂

I always try to start with a more firmer fabric/ribbon for my base. This was burlap ribbon here below. Start by making an “X” with the first two pieces of fabric/ribbon.

Next, you’ll start layering your different fabric/ribbon pieces. Make sure to alternate colors, textures and patterns, and criss-cross each piece.

Once you’ve layered all your pieces how you want them, grab the jute string, and cut off a longer piece (about 5 inches).

Lay your jute string across the middle of your bow, like below.

Now pinch the string, front and back of the bow together, and carefully flip the bow over to the backside.

Now tie a tight knot around the middle of the bow to cinch all the pieces together.

Flip your bow back over to the front. It will look a little squished up.

There is no rhyme or reason to this next part. Just adjust, tug and arrange a few pieces here and there, to make it look pretty and how you like it.

And the last step is to trim up the sides of the bow and clean it up. I didn’t want my pieces all the same length because I wanted it to look a little messy and ragged. This helps you to see all the different patterns and colors too. But you can most certainly do what you think looks pretty! 😉 Here was my finished bow! If you’re going to tie your bow onto something, then you may not want to trim off the excess jute from the back.

I made it with Independence Day colors, but I most certainly could use it year round I think! What do you think of this bow, and what could you put it on? There are soooo many ideas right?!

I hope you enjoyed this quick and easy rag bow tutorial. If you make one, I’d love to see your designs below! Also, please share this post with anyone you think would love this too!

Until next time…

~ Jana 🙂