How to make an easy Farm House Rag Bow... Using the Bowdabra

AbraBowdabra!! 🎀💝🎀 Are you into the #farmhouse #shabbychic or #bohostyle ??? If so, you may like this easy Rag Bow idea!! I upcycled some old, outdated clothes & some scrap lace into this shabby chic Farm House bow. Back in the day, the old timer quilters would cut up worn out clothing from their family members & piece a quilt together called ‘Rob Peter To Pay Paul’ pattern/quilt... Don’t blink & you’ll see an example of one of these quilts in the beginning of this video, made by my great grandma. For this Rag Bow, I slice up some jeans & some cotton shirts in about 1.5” strips by 20”-24”. I left the lace as is & I used an old leather belt from a jacket. (I had donated the jacket years ago & later found that I still had the belt.) The centerpiece is a vintage clip-on earring that I paid $1 for the pair at a thrift store. You can use a button, bead, small silk flower, etc... This is a perfect bow to make in the Bowdabra !!! I wouldn’t want to dare try to hand tie this kind of bow, lol!! (It gets HUGE!!) I can not wait to make some more of these bows... I love how this one turned out!! Now I can’t stop thinking about all the different possibilities & variations that you can do with these!! These are not your typical wired ribbon bows. They are meant to be distressed & floppy looking. Since they’re ‘Rag Bows’, instead of dove tail cutting the streamers, I tied them all in love knots. I mention love knots quite a bit, so I’ll explain them in more detail in this post... This technique will prevent additional, future fraying in the material.
Back in 1983, when I first got started in the Floral Industry, we tied love knots in the streamers of the bows for weddings. (See the information below about why/how *Love Knots* originated for weddings.) The way I use Love Knots in my Decor/Designs these days do not have any specific meaning... I just like the way they look, with the added dimensions I can achieve using them & keeping my ribbon ends from fraying. Bows were VERY popular back in the day, but they also looked very different than they do today. Bows weren’t supposed to be the ‘main event’, but just an accent to tie your colors together, sometimes hide your mechanics, added to the presentation & gave your floral piece that finished/completed look. Back then, if it didn’t have a bow on it, it wasn’t complete. In fact, the only thing I can think of that we didn’t place a bow on was a boutonnière... And if the boutonnière was for a special occasion where it would need to match a corsage, (i.e. Prom or weddings) we would add what we called a tab or tabs of ribbon on them to make both pieces match.
I can see me making keepsake Rag Bows in the future with my grandkids old clothes now... Or, mini hair bows!! 😲🎀😲
If you make one of these beauties of a Rag Bow, please tag me or share a pic in this post... I’d LOVE to see your creation!!
** Universally, “knots” in the origin of the wedding ceremony with its centuries of tradition, have had a place in the folklore of many cultures as a symbol of unbreakable pledges.
Historically, the knot as the symbol of a lasting unity dated back to the Legend of St. Katherine, circa 1225, where the Middle English word “enotte”, or ‘knot,’ was used to mean "the tie or bond of wedlock." From that point ‘To tie the knot’ as an expression came to mean getting married.
The costume of the bride is the pivotal image that sets the theme for the event itself. The design of the gowns and their "Stole Wrap" accessories, floral arrangements, and decorations symbolize the tying of the knot custom, representing the bonds of marriage.
Historically, the bride would arrive at the altar with an untied shoe, and the groom would tie the lace. Knots were tied in the bridal bouquet with a fabric or silken cord or within silk garments as part of the ceremony. In Italy, a knotted ribbon is tied over the entrance to the reception, within bouquets and Bridal Wraps, and in the frosted pastries tied in knots which are served to symbolize the Love Knot.
Ref: White Stole Blog

[@sandysandler6946]

thanks!! Joette, love this video!!