background

Monday, October 6, 2025

Ribbon Wranglers

 


To keep your ribbon from unwinding and making a mess, make these Ribbon Wranglers! A simple fix with a strip of cardstock and you will have no more messy ribbon spools! I've done this to all of my ribbon and they are now wrangled into submission! PDF directions



All you need are:

  • glue
  • Thick Basic White cardstock
  • scissors
  • Hole Punch Assortment
Cutting Thick Basic White Cardstock
  • Regular Size Ribbon Spools: cut cardstock 1/2” x 5-1/2”
  • Wide Ribbon Spools: 1/2” x 8-1/2”
  • Thread Spools: 1/2” x 2-1/4” mark it in the center

Hole Punch Assortment  https://www.stampinup.com/products/hole-punch-assortment?demoid=2109078

  1. Insert cardstock into hole on ribbon spool, leave about one inch sticking out on the other side.

  2. Fold cardstock around the spool, creating crease marks along the edges of the spool. Allow some overlap, then trim off excess.

  3. With a pencil, mark the center of the cardstock the width of the spool.

  4. Use punch out a slit where pencil line is.

  5. Even up crease lines and crease well.

  6. Reinsert cardstock strip into ribbon spool and glue where the ends overlap.

  7. With the end of the ribbon on your right, insert ribbon into the slit shaped hole towards your left. Pull tight. Slide ribbon gizmo away from the ribbon end to shorten length of ribbon hanging out.

Thread Spool:

  • For a spool you make it a little differently. You just create a little cap that you can place on the end and twist this to tighten it up.

  • With a new spool, there is just the tiniest bit of spool to work with. It's easier to get a spool that is almost gone to make them for newer spools that already have so much thread on them.

  1. Cut cardstock to 1/2” x 2-1/4” and mark it in the center. Using the 1/8" hole punch to create the hole.

  2. Wrap the cap around tightly and glue. Hold for a few seconds to allow glue to dry.

  3. Take the little cap off. Thread the Linen Thread or Baker's Twine through the center of the cap, around the end then down the through the hole you punched.

  4. Place the cap back on the spool and twist it until .

  5. If there is a lot of thread, you might want to hand twist it. As you twist, it kind of locks into place.