Quilted Bow Tips

How to Make a Quilted Bow

A quilted bow is a fun way to turn a little patchwork into something beautiful for your home. Surely you may have seen these on the internet or at a quilt show? They’re big AND beautiful! It’s so much fun to use your favorite fabrics to create a bow that can decorate a door, wreath, or give as a gift.

I purchased a quilted bow pattern from Brooklyn Dawn Quilt Co. However, I made a few tweaks to make the bow a little quicker to sew. Follow along to find out my tips and hacks!

Piecing the Patchwork

There are two ways to piece the patchwork for your bow.

You can sew the individual squares together in the traditional way, creating rows and then joining the rows together. In the versions I’ve made, I used tiny squares which took a while to sew; however, they’re beautiful as well! I decided the next time to use 3.5” x 3.5” squares that would sew together more quickly.

Or, try my favorite method: using lightweight fusible webbing as a temporary grid!

Using Lightweight Fusible Webbing

This technique is a great way to keep your patchwork organized and speed up the piecing process.

1. Place the lightweight fusible webbing on a heat-resistant surface with the glue side facing up.
2. Arrange your fabric squares on top of the webbing following a grid layout. I used 14 x 3.
3. Gently press the fabric with your iron to adhere the squares to the webbing. You can use a tea towel between the iron and fabric to avoid getting glue on your iron.
4. Once the fabric is secured to the webbing, fold one row over the adjacent row and sew the seam. Continue across the panel.
5. Snip into the webbing and seam allowances between the individual blocks. Be careful not to cut through your stitching.
6. Turn the panel and sew the seams in the opposite direction, nesting the seams as you go.
7. Give the panel a good press.
8. Repeat to make the second patchwork panel.

Why I Love This Method

The lightweight fusible webbing acts almost like a temporary set of hands! It keeps all of those little fabric squares exactly where you put them, making it much easier to handle the entire patchwork section.

It is especially helpful when you're working with lots of small pieces and want to avoid shifting, stretching, or accidentally mixing up your layout.

TIP: If you have Quilter's Grid Fusible Interfacing, you can use it in place of regular lightweight fusible interfacing for this technique.

Quilting the Bow

Another change I made was using Annie’s Soft and Stable foam in place of batting in the bow. This gives more stability to the bow. Once your two patchwork panels are complete, layer each one with the foam stabilizer.

Baste the layers using your preferred method and quilt them however you'd like.

This is a great place to have fun! Straight-line quilting, free-motion quilting, or a simple all-over design can all work beautifully.

The quilting will give the bow structure while adding another layer of texture and personality.

Creating the Bow Tails

Now comes one of my favorite details of the bow—the angled tails!

Take one of your quilted panels and place it horizontally with the right side facing up.

Using a ruler, mark a diagonal line from the bottom corner through the patchwork squares. I cut through 3 squares diagonally.

Here's the trick I use to create the angled end of the bow tail:

Measure 9¼" from the upper edge and use that point as your guide for the diagonal cut.

Draw your line from the lower corner through the marked point and cut along the line.

This creates a single long diagonal angle rather than a traditional V-shaped bow-tail notch.

Repeat the process on the opposite end of the panel, making sure the two tails mirror one another.

TIP: The patchwork grid makes this step especially easy because you can use the squares as a visual guide when drawing your diagonal line.

Next, use the finished quilted panel as a template to cut the same angled shape from your backing fabric.

Those are some of my favorite tips and hacks for you! Want to make your own bow? Here's the link again.