Silk Ribbon Tutorial
Silk ribbon embroidery is a popular embellishment on clothing, albums and crazy quilts. One of the most popular items made with this silk ribbon are ribbon roses. Dating to the 17th century, according to the Offray ribbon company, ribbon rosettes adorned trimmed shoes and hats of men and women of that day. Easily constructed out of beautifully shaded ribbons made especially for silk ribbon embroidery, or off-the-shelf ribbon, these roses are the centerpieces of whatever item they adorn.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- 24 inches, 5/8-inch silk ribbon
- Matching sewing thread
- Hand sewing needle
- Scissors
Instructions
-
-
1
Cut one length of 5/8-inch silk ribbon by 24 inches long. Holding it with the wrong side facing, start to roll a stamen by tightly rolling three to five revolutions of the right-hand cut edge of the ribbon so that the right side is showing on the outside of the wraps and the raw edge is tucked in the center. Secure in place with tiny stitches, with matching thread, at the bottom of the roll.
-
2
Make sure the length of ribbon always stays to the left and the threaded needle hangs from the bottom of the rose.
Fold the ribbon at a 45-degree angle so that the upper edge is now flush with the left, open side of the roll, and the long tail of the ribbon is hanging vertically, right side out. Pinch the bottom of the roll and make one revolution with the turned-down portion of the ribbon. Secure with small stitches as in Step 1.
-
-
3
Repeat Step 2 for a second layer of rose petal. As soon as the rolled-over area of ribbon disappears, stop rolling. Continue in this same manner, letting the rose get looser as it progresses farther outward from the stamen, making the fold not as sharp an angle as each previous row.
Continue to anchor the rolls as before but insert the needle farther up into the flower so the rolls will be stitched together securely.
-
4
To end, fold the raw end toward the base of the rose, and stitch in place. Knot off and bury the end of the thread inside the stamen before cutting off the excess.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Vary width and length of silk ribbon to adjust the size of the rose.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ribbon rose ii image by studio vision1 from Fotolia.com
