I once decided that I needed to learn how to tie a a Tiffany bow. This might seem like a frivolous quest but I figured, why not learn to do it the right way? So I walked into Tiffany's and asked for help.
Believe it or not, the nice saleslady actually taught me. Now I'll save you the trip and teach you how to do it. It's really easy once you know how.
Step 1
Gather your materials. You'll need:
1) a box
2) nice silky ribbon (I usually cut enough to go around the box about two-and-half times)
3) scissors
Step 2
Leaving at least a box's length of ribbon at the bottom of the box, place the ribbon at the center of the top of the box and hold with your thumb. Like this:
Step 3
Wrap the ribbon once around the box. Place the second piece of ribbon under your thumb as well:
Step 4
Fold the ribbon over your thumb to go around the box at a 45 degree angle:
Step 5
Keep going...
Step 6
...until you go around once:
Now, the step coming up is actually the most important one of the process - if you screw up this step the bow won't work - but don't worry, it's an easy step. Ready?
Step 7
Tuck the ribbon under and back across the ribbon you were holding
with your thumb. You're basically making a U-shaped hook. If the ribbon
looks like this you're almost done:
Step 8
Now center and tighten the ribbon:
Step 9
Now, just like you learned in elementary school, you make a loop with the uppermost piece of ribbon to your right, and then wrap the other piece around and push through to make a bow:
Step 10
At this point, your bow will probably look pretty crappy. Thats fine - just loosen and recenter it:
Step 11
...tighten again:
Step 12
Trim the edges of the ribbon and...
...Voila! You have a perfectly executed Tiffany bow:
After a few rounds of practice you'll be able to do this with your eyes closed. You can use this technique to wrap anything, but a Tiffany gift wouldn't hurt!
(OK, your wallet might cry a bit, but the rest of you will be quite happy.)
