Fabric Ribbon

I pretty much never buy ribbon.
It’s just so much more fun to make your own from fabric scraps.
And yea….duh. Why a tutorial for such obvious fun?
Well if you have a serger (but don’t worry if you don’t!) you can make it look real nice….even from small scraps.
Here are few ideas….

1. Raw and Biased
Okay, this is the obvious one.
Just cut a strip of fabric and tie it around a gift. Don’t worry about finishing anything off–leave it raw. And even the smallest bits of fabric can look cute.

If the fabric is checked, it’s kind of cool to cut it on the bias (the diagonal) so you get a pretty pattern. It also gives the strip of fabric more give so you can stretch it further to fit around your box.
2. Continuous and Serged
If you don’t have a serger, no worries. Just leave the edges raw–it’s still adorable.
But if you have a serger here’s another cool thing you can do with it!
* cut strips of fabric using scissors or rotary cutter (about 1 inch wide or less). They don’t need to be precise or even cut straight! The serger will make the edges look clean.
* With right sides of the fabric together, sew the ends of each strip together–using your serger or standard machine–so that you have one long continuous ribbon.
* Serge all the way down both sides of the ribbon for a clean, polished look. I typically do this two ways: using a 3-thread overlock stitch (pictured below)…or with a narrow rolled hem. They’re two different looks but both are cute.
Tie it on, trim the ends (I just leave those raw) and your gift is ready!
Serged ribbon is so easy to make, I often whip it up at the end of any project so that I have it on-hand.
Okay, one more look….

3. Skinny Criss-Crossed
Same as above:
* Cut very skinny strips of fabric (this gives you more scrap fabric to work with so you can make a really long ribbon)
* Sew them all together
* Starting at the top of your gift, leave a small tail and wrap the ribbon around and around the gift. When you get to the bottom, turn around and go back up to the top. Tie it in a small bow or knot. Done.
If you’re not into using wrapping paper, the repurposed gift-wrap ideas are endless. Try using:
* old pages from kids’ coloring books
* magazines
* recycled book pages – leave plain, draw designs on top, or paint with water colors
* maps
* newspaper
* cereal boxes
* Kleenex/tissue boxes – Target has really cute designs
* napkins
* junk mail?
* brown paper bags from the store
etc.

Instead of Ribbon use:
* yarn
* twine
* twist ties
* embroidery thread
* fabric
* pipe cleaners
* rope
* dental floss?
* rubber bands?

Of course, I couldn’t resist these cute chartreuse and teal boxes from IKEA. I might need to get the Eggplant color too.

Happy wrapping!

  1. 1) Denice

    This is so cute. From now on I’m saving all my fabric strings to repurpose as ribbon.

  2. This is so cute! I love the idea of using the serger for fabric ribbon. It’s a great way to use up leftover strips.

  3. wow.. i don’t ever thinks about this idea.. i will try it next time.. so nice and can save a lots of money.. hehe..

  4. 4) Tonya Stokley

    So smart ! Ribbon and wrapping paper can add up ! And it’s funny how just using what you have around and a little imagination ! You can do anything these days <3 love these ideas ! I have a serger and I was watching a video of how to make French ribbons ! Too cute ! They can cost a lot and I was thinking of even making extra to sale cheaper to help others and have fun making it too on espy lol maybe one day anyways 🙂 ty for sharing <3 love to watch your videos and ext ! Keep me coming please !

  5. 5) John Smith

    Hey,
    Thanks to sharing such a nice post with us. This post is really full of knowledgeable about gift wrap ideas. I will surely used these ideas.
    Keep sharing such post with us.
    .

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