OK, 36 hours ago I made loops for a gumpaste bow. I put the thing togther tonight and the loops were still fairly soft, and within an hour most of them had split and collapsed. What do i do now?! It's 12.15am here and the cake is due for delivery at 10am . I still have gumpaste left - do I knead in more tylose and remake it and assemble in the morning? Help, I'm about to cry!

Just make 3 or 4 of them, and pray they dry overnight.
If you can add more Tylose to the fondant without it cracking, then go ahead. BUT if it was already cracking, it may be too dry.

I've added more tylose to the gumpaste I used before (it wasn't a case of it being too dry, it just hadn't dried hard enough after 36 hours!). I've made 14 more loops (single colour, the one before was beautiful with 6 colours!), and this time I used the toothpick method I saw on here earlier. If they aren't dry enough to use in the morning, I really don't know what I'll do, the stores won't be open in time for me to buy a ribbon version and I don't have any to hand. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

did you put sran wrap or tissue in the loops to keep them up until they dried?

No, the originals were done on a broom handle, The new ones are resting on their sides like it says in the instructions.

You can help dry them out by transferring them to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the oven. You must put it on the lowest temp possible. You need to watch them closely. If the oven seems too hot then leave the oven door cracked open a little. It may take anywhere from 30 min to 1 hr. or longer depending on the thickness and material you used. When you think they are dried enough, let them sit out at room temp for a while and recheck to make sure they are dry through and through. It has worked for me. Good luck!

I'm just trying to think of ideas for you - would it be possible to make a bow with paper? I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I've only made 1 bow & it was really difficult, but they seemed to do better when I put them on their side like you are. Maybe the broom handle messed with them somehow.

It's still a disaster, the loop bits are OK, but the stems are still soft and are cracking with the weight. I have assembled the bo and supported all the pieces with cling film. I'm going to ring my customer and see how late I can deliver the cake, deliver with the cling film in place and then hope for the best .

I think even straight gumpaste for bows need at least 48 hours to dry. And if its humid, it will take even longer. I started making bows a week in advance, because of this issue. sorry you having trouble.

I gave up in the end and looked online for instructions on how to make a satin bow puff, which I did. Just delivered it and the customer loved it and didn't even notice the ribbon wasn't sugar as I had originally designed! Will post a picture later. Now I have to go and decorate a small wedding cake, let's hope that doesn't give me as much trouble (no gumpaste bows on this one!)!

Your problem may be just due to humidity. I made a jungle cake with fondant/gumpaste palm trees a few weeks ago. The trees were perfect in my house but by the time I got them delivered they were softening and lost some leaves. I don't think there's anything you can do about humidity.

I know it's too late to help you now, but Nick Lodge's gumpaste recipe dries super fast. Yesterday I made a big 6" scythe for a grim reaper cake, set it in front of a fan, and 2 hours later, it was hard as concrete and went on the cake. My house does have central a/c though, so it's not humid inside my house while the GP is drying, which allows it to dry quickly. I have never had anything I made with Nick's GP re-soften. Things I made with fondant + tylose have definitely re-softened, however!