Bowmakers- Useful gadget or not?

 I've acquired a couple of these over recent years, and I have to admit, they've been largely unused. Mainly because I couldn't get the knack, and hadn't bothered to go to the source of all instruction, You Tube. On the left, the plastic one is from Papermania and comes with 4 pegs, and cost about  £5. It also comes with instructions on the back, but I've either thrown that out, or put it in a safe place!
 On the right, the wooden one was an E-Bay buy, cost a couple of quid, and there are plenty on there for sale. To be honest, you could make this one yourself- or ask a friendly Hubby- just drilling a few holes in a block of wood, and buying some dowelling of a suitable size.
 The position of the holes themselves will determine the size of the bow- literally the width across two pegs is how wide your finished bow will be.
 The Papermania one will let you tie a bow from 3/4" to 2 3/4". If you have the pegs adjacent, you get a 3/4" bow. One hole apart, just over1", 2 holes between posts gives us a 1 1/2"" bow. 3 holes apart, a 2" bow, 4 holes gives you a bow just over 2 1/4", and finally 5 holes apart gives you a 2 3/4" bow.

 The wooden one is slightly different. Using the narrow pegs you can tie a bow from 3/4" to 1 3/4". The wider pegs are spaced a little differently. You have a block of 3 together, from which you can make either a 3/4" or 1 1/4" bow.  The two separate holes will also give you a 1 1/4" bow, then if you leave one peg in the left hand hole, and move the other one hole across you can tie a 2 1/4" bow. Move the peg to the right once more, and you can tie a 2 3/4" bow. Move to the end hole and you get a 3 1/4" bow.
 In reality,  the width of your ribbon would dictate which size of bow you make- the narrower the ribbon, the closer together you will want the pegs, in order for it to look pleasing.
The bows here were all made using the pegs either adjacent, or one hole spacing. I've left longer tails, as I haven't yet decided what I will use them on, so I can trim them later.
 There are, as I said, good videos on You Tube, and I will link to the three  I found most helpful, HERE, HERE and HERE. 
 Once you've done a few, the knack is easy, and you can produce bows in about 15 seconds. So very useful if you need a lot- Christmas Cards, or Wedding Invitations maybe.
 It's just a case of choose your spacing,

Wrap your ribbon round, and cross over at the back.

One important point- make sure the front of your bow, which will be the side facing away from you, stays nice and flat, and doesn't get twisted.

Hold the left hand piece still, that doesn't move. Poke the right hand end straight through between the posts, underneath the ribbon.





Now bring that end back over the top of the ribbon wound around the posts.

Then tie in a knot with the left hand end.

Pull tightly, making sure the front stays smooth, and that you centre the knot between the posts. Then slide the bow off.

 It is quick and easy and produces a very nice bow. Some of the videos I've linked also show you how to make a 2,3 or more stranded bow which do look very pretty.

So mine will be getting more use in the future. I prefer the bows made with this to my normal method of creating two loops, then tying them into a knot to make the bow.