DIY: Ribbon Chandelier Tutorial

So remember those oh, so fabulous ribbon chandeliers from my Princess Chic Party yesterday?!  Well, I’m here today to teach you how to make one yourself!

These chandeliers are pretty simple to make, but make a BIG statement!  All you need is a lot (!) of ribbon, a hot glue gun, a wood quilter’s hoop, and a little bit of time.  (And if this project looks a little too time-consuming for you, you can always just order one!)

1. Gather your materials.  I use sheer, iridescent ribbon (I like the shimmer!) and I cut it all into 18″ strips before I get started.  I like using at least three colors (for this one we used 3 shades of pink, but we have also done ones with bright combos – pink, orange and yellow – blue, green and lilac – they have all turned out really cute!).
2. Your first step is to glue on two, longer strips (crossing at the top) to hang the chandelier from.  I place a dot of hot glue on the wood circle, and then wrap the ribbon around it to attach.
3. Once you have glued on both hanging strips, it should look like this.
4. Take your 18″ strip of ribbon, fold it in half.  Wrap it around the hoop, and pull the tails thru the loop.  Insert a tiny dot of glue underneath the knot.
5. Pull tight!
6. Repeat.  3 times.  (when working with three colors, I like to work in threes)
7. Alternate colors….
8. Keep tying those knots!  I promise, your end product will be worth it!
9. That’s me sitting on the floor doing this – it’s easier for me to sit on the floor and have all of the ribbons piled around me!
10. Once you knot your strips of ribbon all the way around your hoop, it should look like this.
11. I like to finish it off by adding a contrasting ribbon around the edge of the hoop to hide all of the knots.  For the “princess chic” party, we chose the black polka dot ribbon.  Glue it on by placing a thin stripe of hot glue along the middle of the rim and attaching the ribbon.
12. Finished product!  It was worth it, right?!

Tips:
1. I use 3/8″ ribbon
2. Any size would work, but I typically use 14″ wood hoops – you can order them here, or find them at your local craft store.  Only use the inside part!
3. You can hang them off fishing wire or ribbon (they are incredibly lightweight!)
4. Be careful how you store these, because you don’t want the ribbon to bend or wrinkle.  I store mine in a HUGE ziploc bag with all of the ribbons facing inside the hoop.

These make a stunning statement for a party, but re-purpose them into your child’s room!  They are too cute to only use once!