RE: Making combat ribbons, FAST!
Well, the ribbons really only have to be as long as you want them to be if you're just doing club flying and such.
If you follow AMA / RCCA rules, then the ribbon needs to be 30' long, with a string leader no shorter than 5' from the end of the plane to the start of the streamer. (I always do my strings long, since I loose some length when I tie it on the streamer and airplane).