The difference is length, and length changes what the decoration does. A wreath sash is 5 by 54 inches and hangs in two long tails below the wreath, extending it downward into a vertical composition. A fabric bow is 5.5 to 12 inches wide and concentrates at a single point. Choose a sash when the door is the feature. Choose a bow when the wreath is the feature, or when you need several of them.
Side by side
| Wreath sash | Fabric bow | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 5 × 54 in | 5.5, 6.5, 9 or 12 in wide (gingham); 5.5, 6.5 or 9 in (velvet) |
| Price | $44 | $20 |
| How it attaches | A gathered top wraps over the crown of the wreath | Attaches at a single point, wherever you place it |
| Visual effect | Lengthens the door; turns a circle into a vertical line | Concentrates interest at one spot; keeps the wreath circular |
| Personalization | Embroidered motif on one tail, script initial on the other | Custom name or initial, with a Text or Text + Icon option on the gingham range |
| Reads from the street | Strongly — the length carries | Only on a larger size, or up close |
| Flexible placement | Wreaths, indoors and out | Tree, wreath and gifts |
| Buy several? | Rarely — one per door | Yes, that is the point of them |
When a sash is the right answer
Your door is the thing you are decorating
A front door is a tall rectangle. A wreath is a circle in the middle of it, which leaves a lot of door below doing nothing. The 54-inch tails fill exactly that space, and the result reads from the end of the path in a way a bow does not.
The door is narrow, or the entry feels short
A long vertical line makes a narrow door look taller and a short door look less squat. This is the oldest trick in decorating and it works just as well outdoors.
You want the personalization to be legible
A sash has two long tails to work with, which is why the designs can carry both an embroidered motif and a script initial at a size you can actually read. A bow has a much smaller area.
You are decorating double doors
Mirrored sashes on a pair of doors create a symmetry you can see from the street. Two small bows on a wide double doorway tend to vanish.
When a bow is the better choice
You need more than one
Bows are cumulative. Six of them on a tree, three along a garland, one on each of a run of gift sacks — that is a job a sash cannot do and was never meant to. At $20 each, buying them in multiples is also the realistic option.
The wreath is already the hero
If you have a large, dense, beautifully made wreath, a sash competes with it. A compact bow at the top finishes it without arguing.
You are decorating something that is not a door
Taileroom's bows are listed for tree, wreath and gifts. The gingham range runs to four sizes, 5.5 through 12 inches, and the velvet range to three, which lets you scale one design across a whole scheme — small on gifts, large on the tree.
The door is short, or the wreath hangs low
If there is less than a couple of feet of door below the wreath, a sash's tails have nowhere sensible to go and will end up near the threshold. A bow sidesteps the problem.
Can you use both?
Yes, but not on the same wreath. A sash and a bow on one wreath is two focal points fighting for the same few inches.
What does work is using them in different places in one scheme: a sash on the front door, and bows in the same colour family on the garland, the tree and the gift sacks. The repeated colour ties the house together from the porch inward, while the different forms stop it looking like a theme park.
A note on sizing a bow
The four sizes are not interchangeable, and the usual mistake is going too small:
- 5.5 in — gifts, place settings, small branch clusters
- 6.5 in — tree branches, small indoor wreaths
- 9 in — a standard door wreath, a mantel garland
- 12 in — a tree topper, a large wreath, a staircase newel post
If you are putting a bow on a 22-inch front-door wreath, the 9-inch is the smallest that will read from the pavement.
Frequently asked questions
What is a wreath sash?
A long fabric panel — 5 by 54 inches — with a gathered top that wraps over the crown of a wreath and two long tails that hang below it. It extends the wreath downward instead of decorating a single point on it.
Is a wreath sash better than a bow?
Neither is better; they do different jobs. A sash makes a door into a composition. A bow finishes a wreath, a branch or a gift, and can be repeated across a whole scheme.
Which is better value?
A bow is $20 and a sash is $44, but they are not substitutes. For one front door a single sash does more than two bows. For a tree you need bows.
Can I put a bow on a wreath that already has a sash?
Better not to. The two compete for the same spot at the top of the wreath. Use the sash on the door and the bows elsewhere in the same colour.
What size bow do I need for a front door wreath?
Nine inches for a standard wreath, twelve for a large one. The smaller sizes are for trees and gifts and will look lost on a door.
Pick the one your entry needs
For a door that should read from the street, the Personalized 2-Layer Candy Cane Wreath Sash gives you 54 inches of fabric and both an embroidered motif and a script initial.
For bows you can buy several of, the Personalized Embroidered Gingham Christmas Bow comes in all four sizes and eight colours, and the Custom Printed Velvet Christmas Bow covers the same job in brown, green or red velvet.
Related reading
More from the Taileroom Christmas series: how to tie and style a wreath sash, the coquette tree and decorated with bows.
Compare them all in the Taileroom Christmas collection.
