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I’m all for classic gift wrapping, but I LOVE to create customized gift wrap ribbon to add the perfect touch. Not to mention, it’s super easy to do when using HTV (heat transfer vinyl). Here’s how!

Take your gift wrap to the next level by adding custom text to fabric ribbon.

Benefits of Heat Transferred Vinyl

Although there are many ways to “embroider” something, nothing beats using heat transferred vinyl (in my honest opinion). HTV can be cut on a Cricut to customize t-shirts, dish towels, wood, ribbon, and more.

Using vinyl is a great way to add customize just about anything you can think of. In this tutorial, we’ll look at seven easy steps for making gift wrap ribbon that will be the highlight of the gift!

Just to warn you, you’ll probably get asked where you purchased your ribbon. But you’ll be able to confidently say, “I made it!”

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.  Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

7 Steps to Making Customized Gift Wrap Ribbon

With heat transfer vinyl (HTV) the main star of the show, you’ll want to have that and a few other supplies on hand:

• your favorite Cricut machine (and tools)
• fabric ribbon of your choice – wider than 1-inch is preferred
• vinyl of your choice
• heat press (and tools)
• gift or present you’ll be wrapping

Once you have these few things gathered, you’re ready to start creating customized gift wrap ribbon!

Step 1: Pre-wrap the gift.

To get an idea of how much ribbon you’ll need to use, start by wrapping your gift the way you want it to look. Be sure to leave enough tail length for whatever words you plan to add to it.

Depending on the type of gift you’re wrapping, you may choose to add words just at the tail end or along the length of the entire ribbon. It’s totally up to you.

Step 2: Measure tail lengths.

Measuring your tail lengths will let you know what dimensions to use once you’re designing in your Cricut design space. Jot down the numbers and hop to the next step.

Step 3: Design.

Now it’s time to choose your font design. For the birthday gift wrap ribbon I used Chalkboard Fonts Condensed for the words “Happy Birthday” and Babette for the name “Olivia.” Of course, you can can as create as you want, but if you’re aiming for this look, those are the fonts I used.

Make sure your dimensions match the tail length measured on your ribbon. And here’s a tip for when working with script font- Ungroup the word so you can move individual letters for the perfect letter spacing. To fuse the word back together, highlight it and weld.

Step 4: Cut and weed.

Once you’ve designed what you’d like to put on your ribbon, it’s time to cut it out on your HTV. Then, use the scraper tool to weed out the background and any extra vinyl.

Step 5: Apply to ribbon.

For this step to work fluidly, carefully untie the ribbon on your gift, leaving the ribbon on the gift (there isn’t a need to remove it completely). Place the words on the proper ribbon ends.

Step 6: Heat press.

Once you’ve fixed the words on your ribbon, heat press it once with the plastic backing still applied. Use the heat and time indicated on the vinyl directions (not all instructions are the same). After the appropriate time, remove the plastic backing (and reapply press paper) and heat press it again for a few more seconds. This just helps it to set.

Step 7: Re-Tie the bow.

Now, all there is left to do is re-tie the bow on your gift! Give it a quick adjustment, fluff, and you’re done. Easy peasy!

The Endless Possibilities for Customized Gift Wrap Ribbon

As with most Cricut related projects, the possibilities are practically endless. The same is certainly true for this project. Whether you’re wrapping a birthday, anniversary, house warming, or Christmas gift – you can let your creative juices flow.

I have designed ribbons with words just on the end, the middle, and down the entire ribbon. You can tie the ribbon, knot it, let it hang, and more! It’s truly a fun and easy way to give your gifts a customized look.

Here’s a Christmas ribbon that I made with text all the way around:

And here’s a hostess/housewarming gift with a wine bottle and tea towel:

Oh, and don’t forget to tell me if you’ve tried this project before or plan to try it in the future! Just let me know in the comments below.