Words Hoard & Heath

Photography Eugenia Remark, Letícia Alvares and Olga Solo / Pexels

One pale bow has a tail that almost reaches the bow below it. In Eugenia Remark’s photograph, lengths of ribbon hang between dark branches, with some ends curling back towards the needles. The bows provide almost all the visible decoration. Broad ribbon can cover much of the tree before a single bauble goes on.

That changes the space available for ornaments. If there is a bauble you particularly want to see, leave it a gap between the tails before filling the next branch with another bow. Pale ribbon laid across a pale ornament can hide its outline; a strip of dark greenery between them keeps the two shapes distinct.

A narrow dark-red bow with long tails among green branches and warm lights.
The red tails extend well below the branch carrying the knot.Photography: Letícia Alvares / Pexels

Long ends, small bows

The red bow has slim loops and a compact knot, with two long ends carrying the colour down through the greenery. The branch tips remain visible around the knot and between the tails. For a tree whose greenery you want to notice, this is the treatment we would try first.

Let the ends fall before deciding on their length. A tail that rests across another bow or a favourite bauble may need to be shorter. Try one bow against the tree before cutting a whole roll into equal pieces. Check the space beside the loops as well as below them. A small knot can still have a long reach.

Pale ribbon with gold-coloured edging and a scroll pattern loops among pale-coated branches, ornaments and lights.
The gold edge is visible even where a fold turns the patterned face away.Photography: Olga Solo / Pexels

Give a loop some shape

Ribbon can also run through the branches without being tied into individual bows. The pale strip edged in gold bends outwards in repeated curves, then disappears into the greenery. The gold-coloured edges trace the folds, while the scroll pattern appears in separate patches. A patterned ribbon may look quite different when it is folded into the branches than it does laid flat on a table.

Check the ribbon’s edge before choosing this treatment. Balsam Hill’s guide distinguishes wired ribbon that retains a shaped loop from non-wired lengths used for tying. The photograph alone cannot establish which construction was used. A draping tail and a loop that stands away from the branch ask different things of the fabric.

Keep the cut-offs until the arrangement is settled. A short piece may suit an upper branch better than another long tail.

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