Nicky has 2 1/2 feet of ribbon to make a bow for a friend. She uses 2/3 of that ribbon to make a bow for a gift. How many feet of ribbon did Nicky use to make a ribbon for a gift? Write an equation and solve. Please explain.

2 1/2 is 3/3 of the ribbon or 1 whole. And we need to find how much of the ribbon is used on the gift with it 1 - 2/3 since she used 2/3 of the ribbon on the bow. 

so using a proportion 
2 1/2 - 1
     x  - 2/3

and to solve it cross multiply 

2 1/2 * 2/3 =x

5/2 * 2/3 =x

10/6 =x

1 4/6 =x

1 2/3=x

or a more simple way divide the whole ribbon by 3 to find 1/3 of the ribbon then multiplying by 2
(2 1/2 ÷ 3)*2=x

(5/2 × 1/3)*2=x

5/6*2=x

10/6=x

1 4/6=x

1 2/3=x

Answer: Nicky uses 1 2/3 feet of the ribbon to make a gift.