I used a real ribbon as a guide and cut it out on wax paper I had taped down on my table because I needed a long smooth surface. To get the stripes on was hard at first, I tried just draping the fondant strip over my hand as I put it on the cake but it kept sagging and dropping. I dusted just a tiny bit of cornstarch along the strip and then rolled it (showing side in) on itself. Then I started in the back and slowly pressed the end of the roll onto the cake and gently unwound it turning the cake as I went. Worked beautifully! Go HERE for my favorite Fondant recipe.
a little faith and a lot of frosting