Ribbon Tying Styles

 Adding ribbon to your gift packaging is the easiest and most cost-effective way of elevating it to the next level of quality and achieving maximum visual impact.

Attention to detail is key these days, consumers have become more discerning and expectations are high for the entire unboxing experience.

Adding ribbon to match your brand colours, product colour theme, or seasonally focussed gifting, increases perceived value at minimal additional cost.

It also doesn't have to all be about bows! Here we illustrate the many ways you can use our various ribbons to work with your particular style and taste.

Of course any of these styles work FABulously well with any ribbon and box colour combination, so have some fun creating your own unique solution.

1. Traditional

The classic parcel bow, crossed under the base of the box with a traditional bow on top of the lid. This style always looks elegant and nostalgic. Everyone loves the anticipation of opening this style of gift wrapping, it just feels good! See our Ribbon Roll Options to create this style.

2. Front Single Bow

All our slot boxes are supplied with an 80cm length of matching ribbon, so you don't have to purchase it separately. However, the simple change of using a different colour single ribbon length is a great way to add visual interest. If you buy black and white boxes, all you need to do is swap the ribbons for additional colourway options.  It really is amazing how different the box looks just with a different ribbon colour. See our cut length ribbon options to create this style.

3. Front Double Bow

Double ribbon bows look stunning and give infinite opportunities to match multiple colours to your brand. Use the ribbon supplied with the box plus an additional colour, use two completely different colours, or one plain and one patterned length. All our ribbon product pages show double ribbon bows to give you some colour combination ideas. Mix grosgrain ribbon with a satin ribbon for a great contrast in texture too. This example features black grosgrain ribbon with white satin sparkle bee. See our cut length ribbon options for this style.

4. Lid Only Outside Knot

Tying ribbon only around the lid makes opening the box a lot easier and provides a more permanent decoration to the box because it doesn't need to be removed. Finish the knot on top with long or short tails as you prefer and cut at the ends diagonally, or an inverted 'V'. On our slot boxes you can add our Slot Decal Labels to hide the visible slots as shown here, or use them purely for decoration on our no ribbon boxes. It's a lot easier to tie a knot than a bow, and the result is less fussy. Ideal for male biased gifts. It's also a style that uses the least amounts of ribbon with short knot tails. See our ribbon roll options to create this style.

5. Lid Only Bow

This ribbon style is the same as the lid knot Style 4 but finished with a lovely feminine bow on top of the box. This is ideal for lightweight box contents, or where you want lid decoration but minimal use of ribbon. This style is shown here on our A4 Deep no ribbon white box. See our ribbon roll options to recreate style.

6. Lid Only Ribbon Band

This is the most simplistic of ribbon decoration, creating a sleek and elegant lid band feature that does not need to be removed to open the box. The ribbon length can be knotted on the inside lid, or tied in a bow as shown in Style 7.  A single Slot Decal Label can be affixed to the ribbon band in a matching or contrasting colour to add a lovely decorative embellishment. This style also works with slot gift boxes using Slot Decal Labels to cover the front box slots. See our ribbon roll options to recreate this style. Depending on the box size, you may also be able to use pre-cut lengths so take a look at our full ribbon range.

7. Inside Lid Bow

This option creates a lovely sleek, flat ribbon band on the outside lid of the box lid for an initial minimalist appearance. This style looks especially good with a bold ribbon colour contrasting the box colour for a big statement, or use the same ribbon colour as the box for a more subtle effect. The surprise bow is on the inside of the lid, which adds interest to the opened box.

8. Single Length Full Box

This style is an adaptation of the lid knot but the ribbon is wrapped around the whole width and depth of the box. This style is great if you need the box lid to be securely closed, ideal for heavy or fragile contents. Finish on top with a bow or knot, whichever you prefer. Use Slot Decal Labels to cover the box slots, or just for decoration, they're available in 5 colours, so you can compliment or contrast the box and ribbon colour.

9. Single Length Bow on Slot Box

This style is the same as version 8 but featuring a bow on top. Slot Decal Labels are designed to cover the box slots but they are also a lovely additional embellishment that remains on the box after the ribbon is removed, ensuring the box always has elegant visual appeal. You can use slot labels on no ribbon boxes just for decoration and you only need to use one.

10. Lid & Box 4 Way

This style enables you to create an attractive separate band on the lid, or tie the bow on the inside lid as style 7. However, it also secures the box lid closed with the additional length of ribbon assembled front to back around the full depth of the box. This style uses less ribbon than the 4-way traditional style. It provides the added benefit of ribbon decoration that the recipient doesn't need to remove to open the box. The full box depth length can be finished in a knot or bow on top, as you prefer.

11. Corners with Bow

This is the most elaborate tying style, it's a little tricky to master but the finished effect is worth the effort. This style oozes luxury and elevates your customer's level of anticipation to discover the contents. You'll need a roll of ribbon for this style. Take a look at our ribbon rolls available.