Bows, Bows, and More Bows

In April, I took an order for the Lehi Recreation cheer program's hair bows. The total number was near 200, and I figured that if I worked on a few every day, I'd have them finished well before football season began in August. Well, as you all know, I have a procrastination problem. I finished one batch (17 zebra bows) right out of the gate, but after that my huge stack of supplies sat, hulking and almost breathing in its very own chair--untouched--at the dining room table for months.






Fast forward a few weeks, and I get a call from the supervisor of he cheer program. She asked how the bows were coming along and of course, I said they were looking cute and the process was moving along nicely. Then she said, "That's great! So...can you have them ready for us this weekend for the parade?". As I was falling to the floor in a fainting heap, I muttered "Sure," wondering how in the world I could finish all of those bows in 72 hours. Obviously, I have a saying-no-and-knowing-my-limits problem. He he.

Making each bow is quite a process. First, I have to cut strips of fabric and strips of fusible webbing. Then I have to iron the webbing to one side of the fabric, let it cool, peel the paper, iron down each side separately, and cool again. Meanwhile, I cut more strips of fusible webbing and iron it to the ribbon stripes. I add the stripes to the fabric and iron again, but I have to use an ironing cloth so I don't melt the sparkles.

Once the whole thing cools again, I cut a length of wire and bend it around a hair elastic. Then, I fold and tie the bow which sometimes requires additional ironing with a cloth to get a nice, tight knot. Grr. I finish the bow by cutting another strip of fabric, hot gluing it around the middle of the bow, trimming the ends in a nice V, and adding Fray Check to the ends. Phew.

Of course, I make the bows assembly-line style, but still, the process takes forever. After one really late night, one all-nighter, help from my husband, my two daughters, my two sisters, and three sweet Korean exchange students. It was quite the party!




Batch number two: white satin, purple leopard print, and silver sparkles.




Siha, MinGeyong, and Sejin totally saved me. They were so sweet to help and did a great job.




We made 97 of these and they were fabulous--black faux alligator, purple satin, and silver sparkle. Yummy.

What a task! I loved the way they turned out and so did all of the cheerleaders. I definitely did my own little cheer after I delivered all the bows. Then I collapsed and slept for 13 hours straight. RAH RAH RAH!