Is there a trick to getting a neat bow???? This is my first time and I used gum paste and it just looks like a mess. I can't seem to get the loops close enough together to hide the blob of royal icing in the middle and then my loops keep breaking! How long should I let the gum paste dry? Frustrating!!

Let the gumpaste dry until hard. And can i suggest using chocolate to stick the bow together, it hardens much faster then royal

What kind of chocolate do you use - like the candy melts? Can coloring be added to make it the same color as the bow? I think I may also have made my loops too long. What is a good length? Thanks for the help!

This tells you how on this site in the artical section.


How to Make a Fondant Loop Bow
Molly2

Thanks - I'll take a look at that!

Thanks peg818 for the chocolate trick, I'm going to make my first bow tomorrow.

Does anyone have any more "tricks/tips"?

Love the article on how to make fondant bows, looks to be a great tutorial.

I think the trick is how thick you roll you fondant I made one it took about 3 days to dry but it was heavy and some of the loops broke I'm thinking of buying a pasta maker I here that helps a lot with the thick nest of making things with fondant.

Molly
My experience was not a good one the first time I made one either

After I roll out my strips I fold it over and cut the ends on an angle. So I have a point, rather than flat ends. I have found this helps me be able to put the bows together better. I will also cut some strips thinner so that I can fit them into gaps that the regular strips won't fit in.

When I have time I make the gumpaste bows, however when short on drying time I make chocolate bows. I like to use the white candy melts (Michaels carries them in different colors). Cut freezer paper (I get in the grocery store, it has wax on one side) into strips about 1-1 1/4 inches wide and about 6 inches long depending on how big you'd like your loops. Melt the chocolate and using a small metal spatula spread an even coat on top of the strips. Pick up and run your fingers along the edge to take off any extra chocolate. Let set for 1-2 minutes, pick up and form your loop, chocolate on the inside. Dry on the sides for a good 1/2 hour. Gently peal off the paper when ready to use. I use melted chocolate to form the bow. Feel free to check my pictures, I have one posted that's white with a basket weave bottom.
Good luck!

Rexy, Chocolate bows look and sound great, but I don't know if they would hold up in the summer in Texas. I can see the loops softening up and ending up falling 'flat'.

As far as the question about how long to make the loops. It is going to depend on how big your cake is. Lets say you are doing a 9in cake, and you want the bow to cover most of the cake. So I'd probably do the base of the bow to be around 8in.

For that I'd cut my strips 7 to 8in, so when folded then are 4in or slightly smaller. I dry my loops on dowel rods and usually use two thicknesses of them. I also cut some strips 5 to 6ins and a few smaller than that. I also make some really small ones for the top of the bow.

I have never counted how many loops I make but I'm of the more is better group when it comes to this. That a way you have plenty of loops to choose from as you are putting your bow together, and if you break any you have replacements for it.

As with most things, practice is going to make it easier. Trail and error is the greatest learning tool at times. When you make a bow consider what you like and don't like about it. Keep what you like and try to figure out what to change about what you don't.