Shamrocks, shamrocks everywhere – it’s that time of year again!  I dug out all of my green craft supplies recently in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and came up with this easy shamrock bow made out of ribbon.  I used burlap ribbon, which is a strip of burlap that is finished on the sides so it won’t unravel, but you can use any green ribbon (wired or not wired) for this project.

Project estimate:

• Ribbon, on hand or $1 and up
• String, on hand
• Button, on hand
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free or $1 and up

Cut a length of ribbon about 20 to 24 inches long.  Fold over about 4 inches on one end of the ribbon.

Fold over the end again, this time folding about 7 inches.

Gather the ribbon together at the mid-point of the folded section and tie with string to secure.

On the back side of the bow, maneuver the long tail so that it is perpendicular to the bow you just tied.

Fold the tail down over the front of the bow, leaving about a 4″ loop at the top.

Pull the tails of the string around to the front of the bow, working from two opposite corners.

Tie half of a square knot, then wrap the strings back around the other two corners.  This will make an X with the string across the middle of the bow.  Pull the string tight and tie a knot at the back of the bow to secure.

Glue a button to the center of the bow to cover the string.

Trim the tail of the ribbon to finish the bow.