How to Make Silk Spider Roses

Silk spider roses are made by weaving silk through a round thread "web."

Silk spider roses, known in ribbon embroidery as "spider web roses," make classy rose embellishments. The stitching technique involves weaving fabric or ribbon over and under a round thread base to create a 3-D rose effect. Silk spider roses may be as small as 1/4 inch or as large as several inches across, depending on the size of the foundation circle, the silk ribbon or fabric thickness, and the number of times the fabric is woven through the "web."

Things You'll Need

• Foundation fabric
• Embroidery hoop
• Circle-drafting template
• Fabric marker
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery thread
• Chenille needle
• Silk ribbon, 2mm to 13mm
• Silk fabric strips, 1 inch wide
• Safety pin
• Sewing scissors

Instructions

Silk Ribbon Spider Web Roses

1. 

   Vary the ribbon thickness for different sizes and effects.

   Place the embroidery fabric in a hoop to hold the fabric in place and thread your needle with a 1-ply thread.

2. Use a fabric marker to trace a circle onto the fabric using a circle-drafting template, then mark the center of the circle with the fabric marker.

3. Push the embroidery needle and thread up through the fabric at the center mark and make a straight stitch from the center to the edge of the marked circle. Repeat this straight stitch from the center to the circle edge until you have five even sections, like a pie with five slices.

4. Thread the silk ribbon through a chenille needle and pull through the circle center between two threads on the front side, anchoring the ribbon to the back (on the wrong side).

5. Weave the ribbon over and under the threads with the blunt end of the needle, counterclockwise. Keep weaving around the circle until the rose is the size you want, then take the needle to the back at the last stitch and secure.

Silk Fabric Spider Roses

1. 

   Any silk fabric will make a beautiful spider rose.

   Start the fabric spider rose like the ribbon spider web rose, except use a glass or large round template to make the circle on the foundation fabric the size you want the final rose to be.

2. Thread a sewing needle with thread and push through the marked center of the circle. Using a straight stitch, make five straight stitches from the center to the marked circle until you have the circle split into five even sections, like pie slices.

3. Use a safety pin through the one end of the fabric strip, then sew down the other end of the fabric strip with an embroidery needle and thread to the center of the circle.

4. Weave the fabric over and under each thread inside the circle in a counterclockwise direction until you reach the outside of the circle. Tack the rose down to the foundation fabric underneath using the embroidery needle and thread with a few stitches to hold in place.

5. Cut the foundation fabric around the fabric spider rose without cutting the original thread "web" the fabric weaves through; attach the silk spider rose to a dress or hat for decoration.

Tips & Warnings

• Use embroidery cotton or silk fabric for ribbon spider web roses and a colored silk foundation fabric for the large fabric spider roses.

• The silk fabric strips do not need a sewn edge, but you can use pinking shears to minimize fraying.

• Use the blunt end of the needle to weave the ribbon through the thread so the sharp end does not catch on the ribbon.

References

• "The Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible;" Joan Gordon; 2005
• "The Embroiderer's Handbook: The Essential Step-By-Step Guide;" Margie Bauer; 2005
• Stitching: Spider Web Rose