How to Fold a Cheer Bow

Have you ever looked at a cheer bow and wondered how it was made? At first glance they seem pretty simple. After all, cheer bows are essentially just pieces of 3-inch ribbon that have been folded into a pretty hairpiece. However, most bow makers come up with a technique to ensure that their bows look the same, look clean and are all the same size.

With that being said, there is absolutely no reason that you can't make your own cheer bow. In fact, learning how to make your own cheer bow can be fun and gives you the ability to make unique bows that you can't buy anywhere. You have the option to try out unique fabrics and designs. You can even experiment by making fashion cheer bows that are fun to wear even when you're not near a spring floor or a cheer mat.

Before you can start experimenting, however, you need to learn how to fold a cheer bow. I'm going to show you how.

Some Things to Know before Getting Started

The basic cheer bow is made out of 3-inch grosgrain ribbon, lycra or spandex fabric, a fabric adhesive (usually Heat n' Bond) and a 3/8-inch grosgrain center ribbon. If you are just learning how to fold your first bows, it is easier to get the fold correct by practicing on just 3-inch grosgrain before applying fabric. While bows made from just grosgrain are generally flimsy and don't stand up well in the hair, you can still hone your skill with them before investing in expensive fabrics.

A "just grosgrain" bow on the left, a bow with lycra fabric on the right.
Notice how much thicker the folds are on the lycra bow?

Also keep in mind that you don't have to finish every bow that you attempt to make. Most bows are tied off using twist ties after they are folded - if you don't like how the bow ends up looking, you can always untwist the ties and refold the bow again. There is generally a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be making tons of cheer bows to add to your collection in no time.

This tutorial is picture intensive. You have been forewarned.

Let's Get to Folding Your Cheer Bow

Things you'll need:

• 3-inch grosgrain ribbon 
• Twist ties
• Alligator clips or other narrow clips
• Bow template (click here for a free template)
• Optional: Pliers or some other tool that will let you twist your twist ties tighter

I'm going to be making a lime and blue camo bow today - I've already applied my fabric.

Step 1: Download and print out the bow template. This template will help you make all of your bows look consistent. Simply click on the link to get the template. Make sure you using the "landscape" orientation when printing!

Step 2: Lay your ribbon down on the template with the ends of the ribbon touching the ends on the template.

This is the point where you decide whether you want your bows folded left-over-right or right-over-left.
If you are making multiple bows, you'll want to fold all of your bows the same way so they look the same.

Step 3: Use clips to keep your ribbons in place.

I like to clip my bow where the sides cross -
This prevents the ribbon from sliding during the folding process.

Step 4: Bring the center of the bow down to where the two sides meet. The back of the ribbon should be held just below the top of where the two sides cross so that you cannot see it from the front.

This is what it should look like in the front. 

The view from the back.

Step 5: Actually folding the bow

Alright, from here on out describing exactly how to fold the ribbon gets a bit tricky. I've provided both a picture tutorial of every step (front and back) and a short gif to show you the fold technique in motion. Buckle up.

Making the first fold. This will make the center fold. I am essentially folding the
bottom half of the bow over my thumb.

PRO TIP: Slide your thumb out sideways! (I'm sliding my thumb towards me.)
If you try to just pull your thumb out, you'll pull the fold out with it.
DO NOT LET GO OF YOUR BOW FOLDS!

Making the top bow fold. I'm going to fold this part back towards my desk.

You want to create a second "mountain."

Hold on to your completed folds as tight as you can!

This is the view from the bottom of the bow. I switched hands for this
but you want to continue holding on to your bow and keep your completed folds
as tight as possible.

Make your third "mountain" by creating a fold around your thumb.
Make sure to slide your thumb out while keeping the folds tight.

Keep holding those folds tight!

Phew. That was a lot of pictures. Sorry about that. Keep in mind that the first time you attempt a bow fold your cheer bow may not turn out perfect. It took me about 10 tries before I got something that looked even remotely like a real cheer bow.

Step 6: Tying off the bow

Once you've got the fold, hold it as tight as you can and grab your twist tie. Twist the tie around your the center of your bow. You want this twist tie to be as tight as possible - I actually use pliers to get a better grip and twist until I can't twist anymore. Don't worry yet if your bow doesn't look quite right at this point.

Keep a tight hold on your bow as you wrap the ties around the middle.

Tie it off in the back...

At this point you will want to take out your alligator clips. Be careful to fully open the clips and remove them - don't try to just slide them out. They have a small nub on the clip that will tear the fabric and ribbon!

After you first tie it with your twist ties, don't be surprised if it looks something like this:

It's O.K... We'll fix it.

Step 7: Tug

And a tug tug here... I actually have my pointer finger inside the bow ear and am tugging away from me. 

Give each bow ear and tail a quick, gentle tug to make sure that the folded ribbon is sitting flat together. If one tail is longer than the other, you can tug on the opposite tail or the opposite ear to even it out.

Now all I need to do is give the other ear a tug and I'm ready to move
on to the next step.

If you're having trouble following along with the pictures, here's a video of me folding a bow in just under a minute. This is a demo bow that I use as a how-to bow so it has been folded a few times but it still gets the job done.

The more bows you fold, the better you'll get.

Congrats, you folded a cheer bow! Now, you aren't quite done with the bow - you still need to add the ponytail holder and the center ribbon. To learn how to finish your bow, check out our Finishing Your Cheer Bow tutorial (coming soon!).

Do you have a cheer craft you want us to try or a cheer topic you want us to discuss? Let us know in the comments!