Christmas Bow Decorations

Christmas bow decorations for tree

 Many years ago I made some stuffed fabric bows as Christmas tree decorations.  They have continued to be some of my favorites as we decorate the tree each year.  So I decided to make a few more in some current fabric to supplement my stash of them, and maybe some to give away as well!

They are pretty easy to make
You will need:
some Christmas-y fabric
stuffing, like polyester fiberfill,
cord or string for the holders

For each bow, you will need to cut two pieces of fabric:
one rectangle (A) 4" x 4-1/2" for the stuffed part
one rectangle (B) 3" x 9-1/2" for the ribbon part

To make:
Fold the A rectangle in half, right sides together so that you get a fat little rectangle, not a long skinny rectangle.  Sew around the 3 cut edges, leaving an opening on the bottom about 1-1/2" long.  Backstitch to secure the ends of the seams so they don't pull apart when you turn the piece inside out.  Clip the corners of the seams

leave an opening for turning about halfway on the long raw edge side

Fold the B strip in half length wise, and cut the ends at a bit of an angle to make a ribbon like end to it.
Again, sew around the 3 raw edges, leaving an opening on the side, about halfway on the edge.
Clip corners, turn inside out and press flat.

clip the corners

Turn the piece inside out and push the corners out to make them nice and square.
Press and then stuff the piece so that it is a nice little pillow shape.

You can sew  a seam to help make the pleat,

 Fold the B strip around the pillow, folding in little tucks on each side.  I think these are important to make a sophisticated looking bow!  Sew along the bottom edge of the ribbon part to keep it in place around the pillow part.

really squish up the stuffed part so you can sew the ribbon part together on the sewing machine

 Attach a loop for hanging it up.  I just used some simple thread loop, hands ewing it on.  You could get more sophisticated if you like, such as sewing on a little metal ring to the top and then using a wire holder.

fa la la la la    la la la la

By the way, what is this bird?