Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Tutorial Tuesday: Ribbon Wands

By special request, I've come up with a couple of different sites on how to make Ribbon Wands. I personally don't know what these are, and have found a couple of different "looks" so please look at all the sites and gather the info you need!


These seem to be the basic instructions, however:

SUPPLIES

All supplies can be purchased at a local craft and hardware store.

  • Ribbon: 3 yards
    Choose a color combination, or one solid color, that suits your needs. Additionally, if you want your ribbon wands to be fuller than those shown in the sample image, just add more ribbon.
  • Dowel rods: 1/4" width
    Craft stores sell dowel rods at precut lengths in bags of 8-10. The 12" length makes for an ideal ribbon wand. While you can also purchase dowel rods at a hardware store, you will most likely have to cut them to your desired length.
  • Paint
    Purchase one small bottle of craft paint in the color of your choice. For a simpler option, you can also leave them unfinished.
  • Sponge brush
  • Sandpaper: Fine grade
  • Screw eyes: 214 x 13/16 size
    These can be difficult to screw into the head of each dowel, so use pliers after getting it started. Also, be gentle, as the wood can split.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Using the sponge brush, paint all dowels. Stand them on end in holes punched in a piece of styrofoam to dry.
  2. After the wands have dried completely, gently sand them with fine grade sandpaper. Painting may roughen the surface, so sanding them will remove rough areas without removing the paint.
  3. Attach a screw eye to one end. **NOTE** The above picture has a fishing line swivel attached to the screw eye - I personally really like this look.
  4. Cut the ribbon into 15-20" lengths. Cut ribbon at an angle to avoid any fraying that might occur.
  5. Gather a total of 5-6 ribbons and slip through the screw eye. Tie in a nice, tight knot. **NOTE** Again, the above picture uses only 1 long, thick ribbon.
Check out more great ideas and images HERE.

Also, these are also available from a seller on Etsy to buy and super cute. See her products HERE.

2 comments:

ErinMartinez said...

Thanks for posting this. When I was in flagline we used ribbon wands as part of our marching show. I loved the way they flowed through the air. I want to make these for my students (I teach elementary music). I would love to see how my students interpret the music while waving their ribbons around!

Jennifer said...

Can you tell me what the hook is? The post is kind of cut off when it explains the hook part. Is it some sort of fishing part?

Thanks