How to Make Fabric Ribbon

Have you ever made DIY fabric ribbon?  It's a great way to use up leftover fabric scraps, and the homemade fabric ribbon is so pretty and inexpensive.

I just love making and using fabric ribbon.  

I love regular ribbon, too, but that can get really expensive very quickly.  

Making my own fabric ribbon is not only incredibly easy, but it matches the rest of the fabric elements in my party (obviously), and it's very cost effective.  I can make 66 feet of 2" wide ribbon with one yard of fabric--often $2.50 or less if I use a coupon.  

Start by cutting strips of the fabric.  You could use a pair of nice, sharp scissors, but it's a lot faster and will give you more consistent results if you use a rotary cutter and self-healing mat.  

Place the right sides of the fabric together.

Then just stitch the ends together.  

When used for ribbon, the fabric doesn't get much abuse, so I don't bother with any hemming, or even using pinking shears to trim the ribbon.  Though it is cute with pinked edges.  

Sometimes I even am purposefully rough with the fabric, running my hand along the edges and tugging a bit to fray the sides to create a more shabby-chic look.  You could get a really great frayed effect if you were to wash the ribbon after it's been cut and sewn.  But that might involve ironing, and I avoid ironing at all costs.

Seriously.  All costs.  One time I needed to iron something and it had been actual years since the last time I'd pulled it out of the cupboard, and I discovered that the darn thing didn't work any more.  Only it had been so long since I'd used it, I thought I'd just forgotten how to use it properly (it was a fancy Rowena iron), so I had to call my mom and ask for her help.  Turns out it was just broken.  I went out and bought a $15 iron at Target and it's been plugging along for years now.

But then again, I don't test the iron out often.  Certainly not on this project, which is gloriously simple and iron-free.

Wrapped around simple kraft take-out boxes, boxed lunches feel like a celebration.  Use those same boxes and some Christmas fabric to give cookies to your neighbors, packaged inexpensively and beautifully. Use it anywhere you'd use store-bought ribbon.  What creative ways do you like to use ribbon?

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