How to Make Ribbon from Fabric (And Never Buy Gift Ribbon Again!)

Discover how to make ribbon from fabric — the prettiest way to reuse scraps and never run out of ribbon again. 

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I’ve bought a lot of lovely ribbons over the years. 

Velvet ones, silky ones, the fancy frayed kind that come in little rolls tied with string. 

But none of them make me as happy as the ribbon I made one quiet Sunday afternoon from a worn-out pillowcase. 

It started because I’d run out (as usual), and instead of heading to the shops, grabbed the nearest bit of fabric, made a small snip, and tore. The edge frayed perfectly, giving me the perfect little rustic ribbon.

Now, whenever I need ribbon, you’ll find me rummaging through the antique cabinet that holds my fabric stash, looking for the perfect striped cotton or floral remnant to top a gift. 

Here’s how you can make your very own ribbon from fabric strips – in no time at all.

Watch the Video Tutorial

Stop Buying Shop-Bought Ribbon – Here’s Why!

The Best Fabrics for Making DIY Fabric Ribbon

While this might be the easiest DIY project I’ve shared (you don’t even need a sewing machine!), there is one thing that is really important to pay attention to. 

The type of fabric will determine how lovely your ribbon turns out, so it’s worth picking out something that will work well. Here are the things to pay attention to:

• Stick to woven fabrics – that’s fabrics that have threads running right to left and up and down. These kind of fabrics don’t stretch and will tear cleanly.
  
• Avoid very heavy fabrics like denim or canvas – they’re tricky to tear!
  
• If you choose to use a lightweight fabric like silk, I’d suggest using a rotary cutter to cut long strips rather than tearing. The force of the tearing motion can distort floaty fabrics. The extra work will be so worth it for beautiful silk ribbon!

This project is a great way to use up old or thrifted linens – I love keeping aside old bedsheets to rip up into lovely ribbons.

Here are some different fabrics I’d recommend for making your ribbon:

How Much Fabric You’ll Need for Your DIY Ribbon

Typically you’ll need at least a metre (yard) of ribbon to wrap a gift or make a little bow, so I’d recommend buying at least a metre (yard) of fabric to tear into strips. 

The longer your fabric piece the better, of course! If you have multiple metres you can create much longer strips of fabric.

How to Make Ribbon from Fabric 

Supplies

• Fabric scraps or old linens
• Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
• Iron and ironing board

Step 1: Cut the Fabric

Cut a small snip along the fabric’s raw edge, parallel to the selvedge (that’s the finished edge of the fabric)

You’ll lose a bit of the ribbon to the frayed edge, so make it a little wider than you’d like it to be. 

Step 2: Tear the Fabric

Hold the fabric firmly and tear — it should rip in a straight line.

Repeat until you have as many strips as you’d like.

Step 3: Neaten the Edges

The sides of the ribbon will have lots of loose threads. Gently pull them away until the raw edges of the ribbon look neat. 

Press the ribbon and roll it carefully ready to be used whenever you need! And there you have it – beautiful ribbons!

Where Will You Use Your Handmade Ribbon?

Now that you know how to make your own ribbon, why not use it to make a gorgeous DIY bow garland?

Or if you’re planning to wrap gifts, take a look at my potato stamp wrapping paper tutorial (I promise it’s cute!)

I’d love to see where you use your ribbon – tag me on Instagram. Bonus points if it’s made from an old pillowcase!