These ribbon wands are so sweet and are incredibly easy to make. Whip up a bunch for a wedding, for birthday party favors, or as a pretend play wand.

How to Make a Ribbon Wand

Welcome to the second week of my Summer Crafting series. Every Friday for the next 9 weeks, I’ll be sharing easy crafts you can make over the weekend. Be sure to check back each week for new projects!

If you were once a little girl, you probably know the importance of dancing. I’m not talking about formal lessons and recitals.

I’m talking about dancing your heart out on the living room floor to your favorite music. I’m talking about creating shows for your parents to watch and dramatically re-enacting every ballet move you’ve ever seen. And I’m definitely talking about ribbons and sashes flowing behind you as you leap through the house.

You could easily go out and buy a ribbon wand along with a matching princess dress, but it is so easy to make one. It’s one of those crafts you can put together quickly, so tell your daughter to go put on her dancing outfit, and have fun!

How to Make a Ribbon Wand

You will need:

One wooden dowel
One screw eye for the top of the dowel
Fine grain sand paper, if needed
Pen or paint to decorate
Ribbon in various colors

First, if the dowel is rough, carefully sand it to make it smooth. I discovered that some of the dowels in the pack were smoother than others.

Use a pen to draw polka dots, hearts, or stripes on the wand. You could also write your little princess’ name on it.

Dip the end of the dowel into water to soften the wood and wait a couple of minutes. Twist in the screw eye.

Cut lengths of ribbon for the wand and thread through the screw eye. Tie in a knot, and you’re finished! The length of the ribbon is really a personal preference, as are the colors used. These wands look lovely with a variety of ribbon textures, so if you have a ribbon stash that needs to be used up, this is a great project for that!

How to Make a Ribbon Wand: Make a no-sew ribbon wand with just a few supplies @ jenniemoraitis.com

You can also buy wooden or plastic rings and tie ribbons on them without having to use the screw eye. I took a Baby and Me class with my daughter a few years ago where the teacher made ribbon streamers using small wooden rings. They were very cute, and we used them for music time and dancing. Babies and kids LOVE these!

These wands can also be used as . . .

  • Indoor sparklers for the 4th of July
  • Wedding favors for your guests. (Imagine your guests waving these instead of blowing bubbles at you—the pictures would be so lovely!)
  • Decoration for a kid’s party and take-home favors as well.
  • A gift for a little girl. Just add a homemade tutu, and she would be sooo happy!

Have you ever made a ribbon wand?


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20 responses to “How to Make a Ribbon Wand”

  1. Catherine Avatar
    Catherine

    If I get really ambitious, I might make these as party favors for my daughter’s second birthday party!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Oh my goodness, that would be so fun!

  2. Bobbie Avatar
    Bobbie

    I love this – we may have to make them in craft class tomorrow! I did ribbon wands with bells for the last wedding I planned. Each had a little saying about wishing them well and they would kiss at the ring of the bell. I used hot glue instead of an eyelet.

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      What a great idea to use hot glue. I was wondering if that would work. Did you tie the ribbons in a knot and then glue them to the top? Hope you have fun in craft class! 🙂

  3. Kate W Avatar
    Kate W

    I well remember my mother, daughter, husband and I set up late one night making ribbon wands to shake as my daughter and son-in-law left the church over six years ago. It was great!

    I wish this comment box took pictures, I can show you!

    Your technique gives great results. The wands you show here are lovely.

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Oh my goodness, I bet they were amazing! 🙂

  4. Veronika | Tickled Pink Confetti Avatar
    Veronika | Tickled Pink Confetti

    This looks so cute, Jennie! I made something like this for my eldest’s birthday goodie bags but I use bracelets that I found for $1 ea and call it hand kites. Haha. It was quite meditative tying the ribbons. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      What a great idea, Veronika. My daughter would love a bracelet with ribbons attached to it–think I’ll try that! 🙂

  5. Emma Avatar
    Emma

    These are so pretty but they look so easy to make! Great idea!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Thanks, Emma! 🙂

  6. Nina Lewis Avatar
    Nina Lewis

    I’m dropping by from the Create It Thursday link party. This is such a wonderful idea! I’m putting this on my list of things to make with my granddaughters. They will love them.

    I have a link party that I’m trying to grow. I invite you to share this idea (and a couple of others) at my Grandma Ideas Sharing Time link party at http://grandmaideas.com. My readers would LOVE this idea, too! The party goes from Wednesday through Friday at midnight. I hope to see you there.

    All the best,
    Nina

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Thanks so much for your sweet comment, Nina. I think your granddaughters will love these wands! 🙂 And thanks for the invite to your link party; I just stopped by! Have a great weekend! 🙂

  7. Judith Avatar
    Judith

    My nieces will love this project. Definitely pinning for later!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Thanks, Judith! 🙂

  8. Theresa @DearCreatives Avatar
    Theresa @DearCreatives

    Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party! Pinned & shared. Hope to see you again soon.

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      Thanks, Theresa! 🙂

  9. mary beth at http://www.mbzinteriors.com Avatar
    mary beth at http://www.mbzinteriors.com

    I love this idea for a wedding!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      I do too! I only wish I had thought of it for mine–ah well…:)

  10. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    Love these! Can you tell me what size dowels and eye pins you used? I got dowels last night (3/16″) but I’m not sure what size pin to use or if I need to get bigger dowels!

    1. Jennie Avatar
      Jennie

      I used a size 5/16″ (12 inch) dowel and just eyed the size of the pin so it would fit. I’ve also seen methods where the ribbons are tied around the top of the dowel and secured with hot glue, and maybe a jingle bell or small flower to hide the glue. Hope this helps! 🙂

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