How to Make Cheer Bows with Cricut

You spent 45 minutes trying to cut ribbon by hand and every single edge came out crooked.

A Cricut fixes that fast. You can make clean, professional-looking cheer bows two different ways: cut the actual bow shape from ribbon or fabric using your Cricut, or use your Cricut to add custom HTV or rhinestone designs to pre-made bows. Both methods work great. The one you choose just depends on how much time you have and what tools you're working with.

Two Ways to Make Cheer Bows with Cricut

There are two solid approaches to making a Cricut cheer bow, and neither one is wrong. They just solve different problems.

Method 1: Cut the Bow Shape Directly

This method uses your Cricut to cut the ribbon or satin fabric into the actual bow shape. You get perfectly symmetrical loops every time. The Cricut Maker with the rotary blade handles satin and grosgrain ribbon like a dream. The Cricut Explore Air 2 can cut lighter ribbons if you use a strong grip mat and go slow.

Method 2: Decorate a Pre-Made Bow

Buy your bows already made (cheer supply stores sell them in bulk), then use your Cricut to cut heat transfer vinyl (HTV) or rhinestone transfer sheets to iron or press onto the bow. This is faster, requires less precision, and still gives you that custom look with team names, numbers, or initials. Most people selling cheer bows use this method at scale.

Materials and Supplies You Need

Your supply list changes a little depending on which method you pick. Here's a breakdown of what each approach requires.

For Cutting Bow Shapes

• Grosgrain or satin ribbon: 3-inch width is standard for full-size cheer bows. Use 1.5-inch for mini bows.
• Cricut Maker with rotary blade (for fabric) or Explore with a fine-point blade (for lighter ribbon)
• Strong grip cutting mat
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Bow center wrap piece (a small strip of ribbon to cover the middle)
• Hair clip, alligator clip, or elastic band

For Decorating Pre-Made Bows

• Pre-made cheer bows (grosgrain is easiest to press HTV onto)
• HTV or rhinestone transfer sheets
• Cricut EasyPress or mini heat press
• Cricut Design Space for your custom lettering or designs
• Weeding tools

Cutting the Bow Shape or Ribbon

If you're cutting your bow shape directly, start in Cricut Design Space. Search "cheer bow" in the shapes or projects library, or upload your own SVG template. A standard full-size cheer bow needs about 22–24 inches of ribbon total across both loops. Mini bows use around 12–14 inches.

Settings for Ribbon and Fabric

For grosgrain ribbon on the Maker, use the rotary blade and set your material to "Grosgrain Ribbon" if it's available in your material list, or use "Woven Fabric" as a close match. Tape the ribbon flat to your strong grip mat so it doesn't shift mid-cut. Satin is more slippery, so adding a light piece of stabilizer under it helps a lot.

Sizing Guide

• Full-size cheer bow: Loop width around 4–5 inches, total bow width 6–8 inches. Standard for competition and sideline cheer.
• Mini cheer bow: Loop width around 2–2.5 inches, total bow width 3–4 inches. Great for youth squads, spirit accessories, or selling as add-ons.

If you're skipping the bow-cutting step and using pre-made bows, you can jump straight to the embellishment section. That's honestly what I'd recommend for anyone just starting out — the pre-made route saves a ton of material waste while you're learning.

Adding Embellishments with HTV or Rhinestones

This is where the Cricut really earns its spot on your craft table. Custom text, team numbers, initials, and mascot outlines all look sharp when you cut them from quality HTV. If you're new to working with heat transfer vinyl, the Cricut Iron-On Vinyl Guide: Everything You Need to Know covers everything from material types to pressing temps.

HTV on Cheer Bows

Design your text or graphic in Cricut Design Space. Keep the design small — for a full-size bow, your text area is roughly 2.5 inches wide by 1 inch tall before it starts to crowd the loops. Mirror your image before cutting. Use glitter HTV or metallic HTV for team colors that really pop. Press at around 305–320°F for 10–15 seconds with medium pressure.

Rhinestone Transfers on Cheer Bows

Rhinestone template sheets get cut with a fine-point blade. Your Cricut cuts the template, you fill the holes with rhinestones, then transfer the whole design to the bow with heat. It takes a little practice to fill the template without gaps, but the finished result looks expensive. Rhinestone cheer bows sell for 2–3x more than plain HTV versions.

Cheer bows also make a great pairing project with Making Sports Team Shirts with Cricut if you're outfitting a whole squad.

Assembling the Bow

Once your ribbon pieces are cut and your embellishments are applied, assembly goes pretty quickly.

Step-by-Step Assembly

• Step 1: Form your two ribbon loops and pinch them at the center. Use a small piece of wire or a loose knot to hold the shape temporarily.
• Step 2: Stack the loops if you're making a layered bow. Two or three layers of different widths or colors look great for competition bows.
• Step 3: Wrap your center piece (a short strip of matching ribbon) tightly around the middle and secure with hot glue at the back.
• Step 4: Hot glue your hair clip or alligator clip to the back center. Make sure the clip opens toward the bottom of the bow.
• Step 5: Hold the bow firmly for 30–45 seconds while the glue sets before moving it.

If you're attaching the bow to a ponytail holder instead of a clip, loop elastic through the center wrap before you glue it down. That's a much cleaner finish than gluing elastic to the back.

Selling Custom Cheer Bows

Custom cheer bows are one of the better products you can make with a Cricut if you're looking to sell. They're small, lightweight, easy to ship, and teams buy them in bulk. The Most Profitable Cricut Items to Sell in 2026 breaks down why cheer accessories consistently rank near the top for Cricut sellers.

Pricing Guide

• Plain grosgrain bow with clip: $6–10 each
• Bow with HTV name or number: $12–18 each
• Rhinestone cheer bow: $20–35 each
• Bulk team orders (12+ bows): Discount to $10–15 per bow for HTV styles, but require a minimum order and a deposit upfront

Customization Workflow for Orders

Keep a simple intake form that collects team colors, name or number, bow size, and clip style. Batch your cuts — run all the HTV for an entire team order in one session instead of cutting one bow at a time. That alone can cut your production time in half. Tools like Cuttabl help you organize your Cricut projects and track what you've made, which gets useful fast when you're juggling multiple team orders at once.