How to Make Flower Bows out of VHS Tapes

To make these, you will need a Flower Loom. I like the one by Knifty Knitter and that is what I used, but there are a couple other varieties out there. The Knifty Knitter will come with a hook & plastic needle that you will need.

Other supplies you will need include an old VHS tape (as opposed to all the new ones you have laying around - HA!) or some plastic shopping bags and a pair of scissors.

The yarn is optional, as you could continue to use the VHS tape or plastic bags to complete the center of the flower. This was leftover yarn and thought it added some nice color.

To make the flowers, you just follow the instructions included with the loom where you loop from one peg to the peg across from it and work your way around the loom at 2-3 times. To join & finish the flower, you thread your yarn/plastic/tape/etc through the needle and sew diagonally across the center. Boy, that center part is hard to explain, but the instruction that come with the Knifty Knitter flower loom kit explain it easily. It's not as difficult as I am making it out to be.

To remove the VHS tape from the cartridge you will need a thin screwdriver to remove about 5 screws from the back. After they are removed you can just pop the cartridge apart and take out the reel of tape.

But before you do this, make sure to rewind the VHS (if you still have a player) to make it easier to use.

If you don't have any VHS laying around, check a thrift store or Freecycle or free boxes at rummage sales. I have seen thrift stores sell them for $1, but I picked some up in a cart of free stuff. 
If you don't have any VHS tapes to re-purpose, then try out some plastic shopping bags. You will need to cut one long strip by circling the bag over & over again. Be sure that your strip is 1-1 1/2 inches thick; if it is too thin it will rip and you will need to start over with an intact piece. You could use the thicker shopping plastic bags that you get from department stores and that would be stronger.
I really liked using the VHS tape because I could pull it tight and it would not tear. It works really well for tying around a present. Plus, there is SOOOOOoooo much tape to use. The video I started with was just a 30min. long show and I have already made 3 flower bows and tied 2 presents with it and only used about half. And I like the glossiness of the tape as well.

So, interested in seeing this on a present with the tape tied around it? Well, you'll have to just wait a bit. Next month I will feature a post on Northern Cheapskate on How to Green Up Your Holiday Wrapping. I will feature many ideas including this one and my most recent post on How to Make Cinnamon Ornaments and Gift Tags as well as a few more I am working on.

In the meantime, catch on reading about my other how-to projects and green tips that I have posted on Northern Cheapskate.