materials needed for ribbon gender reveal
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My Ribbon Gender Reveal

When we found out Savannah was a girl we just sort of announced it on Facebook and everywhere, without all the fancy gender revealing. So this time around I wanted to actually do a gender reveal, not just tell everyone. I’ve seen a lot of people slice a cake, open a box of balloons, and pop open confetti to reveal the baby’s gender so thought I’d come up with something a bit different — A ribbon reveal. Keep reading to find out if I’m having a boy or a girl plus the instructions to make your own ribbon reveal!

About to start gender reveal

Doing a ribbon reveal allowed S to be the one who reveals the gender by pulling at the ribbon until we see the final ribbon color at the end of the spool. I really wanted her to feel a part of the process and the center of attention during the big news so this worked out perfectly. We did the reveal while the whole family was together for my nephew’s birthday back in September and I had the husband record it on his phone, but you couldn’t see the ribbon in the video because the one we used was so thin, and it was too dark out to really see much in the video. I learned from that for these reveal pics and instructions, though.

It’s a . . .

starting our gender reveal

Boy!

S was NOT happy with what she found out when she got to the end of the spool the first time we did this. She even started saying she hated the baby. But by the time we got around to doing the ribbon reveal again for these pics and instructions she had gotten a bit more used to the idea of a baby brother instead of sister and now is more accepting. She thinks about things to give to her baby brother or that she wants to do with him when he’s born now, which is super sweet.

Excited we're having a boy
My Ribbon Gender Reveal

How-To: Make Your Own Ribbon Pull Gender Reveal

materials needed for ribbon gender reveal

Materials Needed

For this simple DIY gender reveal you’ll need a few things from your local crafts store. Be sure to go when you have a store coupon because at $8 per spool of ribbon the cost can add up.

  • 3 spools of wide ribbon (at least 1 inch). Choose whichever colors you prefer. One for boy, one for girl and another color for the start of the ribbon. Each spool should ahve the exact same ribbon width so that the different color ribbons don’t show on the sides.
  • Scissors
  • Double-sided tape or a glue stick
  • Fabric glue
  • 2 Printed “Girl or Boy?” signs. Get them HERE. You can shrink or enlarge these to fit your spool but will print at about 5×5 each as-is.
  • Pen, pencil or long, thin wooden rod

Step 1: Cut Extra Ribbon Off Your Spool

Start with the spool of ribbon that tells everyone the baby’s gender. Pull the ribbon off the spool until you reach  the last bit, then cut the rest of the ribbon off. I left a good amount of ribbon on the spool, still, but didn’t want it too long. About 12-15 inches is good.
first step in ribbon gender reveal

Step 2: Glue on a Second Ribbon

Use fabric glue to attach the next ribbon color to your first spool of ribbon. This can be the opposite gender or the gender-neutral ribbon color. I chose to end my reveal with the blue and have the pink show up just before it. Let dry and test that it’s glued well. Add double-sided tape and other reinforcements if needed.

Attaching ribbons

Step 3: Cut Second Ribbon

Choose a “tricky” length for your ribbon that might make guests think that you’re revealing the gender with this color ribbon, then cut it off from its spool. You can do a repeat pattern with both the blue and pink (or whatever colors you go with) for a bit to really confuse people, or just do a simple one like mine.

Step 4: Roll and Repeat

Roll up the ribbon that you have on your gender reveal spool so far then repeat the cut and paste steps for your last ribbon color choice to create a start ribbon for the reveal. Use a small piece of tape to tape the last bit of start ribbon onto itself in the spool so that it doesn’t unravel before use. (I used the start tape that came on my blue ribbon when I opened the spool.)

rolling up the ribbon

Step 5: Apply Boy/Girl Printable

Click the image below, or CLICK HERE to get the Boy/Girl spool printable pdf for this DIY. It comes with two different 5×5 designs that you can either use on either side of the spool or can choose from. Just print the pdf twice if you want to use one design and not the other. You’ll need two signs to cover both sides of the spool. After it’s printed and cut out (it’s OK if it’s a tad bit larger than the surface of the spool sides), use double-sided tape or glue to adhere the printables to both sides of the spool. Be sure to spread out your glue evenly so there aren’t giant gobs and the paper doesn’t get saturated. A glue stick or double-sided table might be best for this one.

Apply pdf template to ribbon spool
design option two on ribbon spool

Step 6: Create a Handle

Push a sharp pencil (or pen, rod, whatever you choose to use) through the center of the Girl/Boy sign where there’s a hole in the spool. You’ll hold the pencil from both sides while someone pulls the ribbon out during the gender reveal so that the spool can move freely.

gender reveal- it's a boy!

Step 7: Happy Gender Reveal!

Choose someone to gently pull the ribbon from the spool as you hold it by the pencil. This could be the big sis or big bro-to-be or your partner. Enjoy the reveal and congrats on your pregnancy!

How To Make a Ribbon Gender Reveal

What do you think of the ribbon gender reveal, do you like it? Be sure to tag #savvyeveryday in your pictures on social media if you try this out, or email me your pics!

All photos by Urban Shutterbug Photography

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4 Comments

  1. Stephanie says:

    So cute! I love this idea! Congrats to you and your family!