Working with ribbon can be a tricky operation. Bows are especially involved, requiring a certain level of multitasking to hold the ribbon in place while building loops and negotiating with cutting tools. 

In this video from Pioneer Imports & Wholesale, Susan Huelsman AIFD suggests a list of useful tools to have at the ready whenever you embark on a bow project. 

Making sure that you have all the necessary equipment on hand means that you won’t have to stop in the middle of a complicated bow to hunt something down. Because building a nice bow is a two-handed job, setting the bow down in the middle often means that you’ll have to start all over again.

Susan describes how to build your toolkit around a few important staples. Scissors are at the top of the list – Susan suggests spending the extra money to get a good high-quality pair. The sharper the scissors, the neater the cuts and the less fraying during the process. These will become your primary ribbon shears.

It will be helpful to keep a second pair of scissors around as well. These could be cheaper or already well-used, since you’ll just be using them to cut any paper stock away from new rolls of ribbon or other supplies. You don’t want to dull your primary ribbon shears on anything except ribbon.

Cutting wired ribbon will require a pair of wire cutters. Susan notes that you might want to add a pair of snips to the mix as well, so you can enjoy better accuracy when cutting narrower styles of wired ribbon.

To round out the list, Susan offers a reminder to keep florist wire with your bow-making gear. You can use either 24- or 26-gauge standard florist wire, or maybe some pipe cleaners or chenille stems. 

You may encounter other useful supplies as you progress on your journey to learn more bow styles, but this list is a great place to start. You just might find yourself getting even more excited to build beautiful bows because you’ll already have all the supplies gathered right within reach.

Let Pioneer Imports & Wholesale help you build up your collection of gorgeous and useful ribbon. The Pioneer catalog includes a wide variety of wholesale ribbon styles in a spectrum of colors and patterns. With Pioneer, you’ll be able to create the perfect ribbon accent for any project or occasion.