Tuesday, April 1, 2014

How to Make Curly Ribbon



Don't you just love those little girl hair bows with the darling curly ribbon? Did you know this kind of ribbon has a special name? I didn't until recently, when I discovered it's called korker ribbon. (Maybe this is common knowledge to everyone else, but it was news to me.) I have often wondered how on earth that's done, and if it was a process I could recreate at home. I found a tutorial at The Ribbon Retreat; as it turns out, it is super easy!

To make your own korker ribbon, you will need:
  • Grosgrain ribbon (this is the "bumpy" ribbon with the little ridges) You can use any width, but somewhere around 3/8" is probably the most common for this purpose. You can use plain colored ribbon or ribbon with designs printed on it. I was a little dubious about using the printed ribbon in the oven, but I tried it out just for you, my dear readers, and it worked great!
  • Wooden dowel rods (I used 1/4" wide and 3/8" wide, but experiment with different widths to see what you like!)
  • Wooden clothespins
  • A baking sheet
  • Oven preheated to 275° F
Let's get started!
Use a clothespin to attach one end of the ribbon to one end of the dowel rod. Spiral the ribbon around the dowel and use a second clothespin to secure the other end.


You can see my clothespins are really little; my Hobby Lobby was out of regular-sized clothespins and I was too impatient to wait to make these, so I bought the little ones. They worked, but bigger ones would be easier. :)

Lay the wrapped dowels on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before removing the ribbon from the dowels.

When you take the cooled ribbon off of the dowel rods, it will stay permanently curly! How cool is that?


I told you it was easy! Now you can make tons of darling hair bows for the special little girl in your life (without paying boutique prices).
You guys, I am so addicted to making hair bows for my daughter right now! I am making them to match all of her little outfits. Of course, she leaves them on for about 4.5 seconds, but it's still worth it, right?


I also think these would be cute to use as gift packaging, or sewn onto baby onesies. What other ideas do you have for using korker ribbon?

Linking up with Treasure Box Tuesday, Worthwhile Wednesday, the Wednesday Roundup, and the Inspiration Spotlight.

7 comments:

  1. That is awesome. Really. I can't wait to give it a try!

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  2. Well, who knew? Korker, kind of a funny name.

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    1. I know, right? You learn something new every day. ;)

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  3. Oh my gosh! I had no idea thats how it was done!! SO cool!

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    1. I didn't either; I figured it would be more complicated than it is. I'm a little addicted now, lol.

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  4. I love curly ribbon! What a great tutorial! Thank you for sharing at The Wednesday Round Up! We hope to see you back next week.

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