How to Make Embroidered Bullion Roses

Embroidery is a portable hobby that you can do almost anywhere.

Embroidered bullion roses add an attractive raised embellishment to any fabric. It is not difficult to make these roses, although it does take persistence and practice to do them correctly. The bullion stitch is actually an elongated knot you form with a needle and thread. You can use this to create a raised rose effect on christening gowns, jeans, tote bags, cloth shoes or any other accessory made of fabric. Embroidery is a portable hobby that you can work on almost anywhere to create beautiful apparel embellishments that make great gifts for friends and family.

Things You'll Need

• Embroidery thread (dark pink, medium pink, light pink and green)
• Milliner needle
• Tightly woven cloth (high thread count muslin, for example)
• Embroidery hoop
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Place your fabric into an embroidery hoop. If you are embellishing an item such as a shoe, this will not be possible.

2. Thread your milliner needle with two strands of the dark pink thread and bring the ends even together. Do not knot the thread ends.

3. Insert the threaded needle into the back of the fabric. Place it under two threads in the tightly woven fabric. The needle should come out the backside of the fabric.

4. Pull the thread through the fabric until there is only a half inch left.

5. Insert your needle back into the stitch perpendicular to it. In effect, you are creating a tiny "+" shape, although it will end up looking like a tiny square. Only go through a couple of threads this time as well. This anchors your stitch so that you do not have to use a knot. The thread is secure now, so you can use scissors to clip the loose ends off.

6. Place the needle through the back of your fabric again slightly above the tiny square you made. The position where you pull the needle through is point "A." The tiny square you made to anchor the thread is point "B."

7. Bring the needle down to point "B," pulling the thread all the way through. Insert it into the cloth and then bring it back up through the cloth at point "A." This time, do not pull the needle through. When about a half inch of the needle is through the cloth, you can proceed with the wrapping of the thread.

8. Wrap the thread in a clockwise motion around the needle six or seven times. It may be necessary to drop the thread while wrapping to prevent it from becoming twisted.

9. Place the thumb of your non-dominant hand over the wrapped stitches. Pull the needle and thread through until the thread resists and is all the way through the fabric.

10. Tug gently on the thread and then bring it toward the bottom of the stitch and pull on it gently again. This is your first bullion stitch.

11. Insert the needle down into the fabric at the bottom of the bullion stitch. Bring it up through the fabric so that it is slightly right and slightly above the top of the first stitch.

12. Place the needle down into the fabric very close to the bottom of the first stitch. Bring it up again through the fabric at the place where you began the second stitch. Repeat the bullion knot stitch, but this time make it a little longer by wrapping the thread eight or nine times. This completes the center bud portion of the bullion rose.

13. End the stitch by inserting it down into the fabric slightly right of the stitches and bringing the thread back up across two weaves in the fabric. Insert the needle back down through the fabric, but this time go back through the first bullion stitch you made. Bring the needle back up slightly right of the bullion stitch and clip the thread very close to the fabric. For the remainder of the stitches, wrap the thread eight or nine times.

14. Thread your needle with the medium pink thread. Create another bullion stitch directly to the right of the dark red stitches and bring it down slightly to the left of the dark pink stitches so that it will cross the dark pink stitch.

15. Repeat the method starting a fourth bullion stitch slightly to the right of the rose bud and bringing it down to the left so that it slightly crosses over the dark pink stitches.

16. Insert the needle slightly to the right of the fourth bullion stitch and down again slightly to the left. Make sure you end each bullion stitch correctly by clipping the threads close to the topside of the fabric.

17. Thread your needle with the light pink and make a sixth bullion stitch to the right of the third bullion stitch and wrapping round the end of stitch number five. End the stitch and clip the threads.

18. Thread the needle with the green thread and use a fly stitch to create the foliage of the rose. Bring the needle up beside the rose about midway in the length of the rose, pulling the thread through.

19. Push the needle down the opposite side of the rose, directly across from where you brought the needle up through the fabric. Do not pull the thread all the way through the fabric this time. Hold it near the bottom of your embroidery hoop with the thumb of your non-dominant hand. Bring the needle up again at the midpoint between the two stitches and pull the thread all the way through. This creates a "V" shape that forms the green foliage of the rose.

20. Insert the needle again at the base of the "V" shape and anchor it to end your bullion rose.

Tips & Warnings

• Using an embroidery hoop keeps the fabric stretched tight. You can find all the embroidery supplies you will need at craft and hobby, fabric or discount stores.

• Bullion stitches are useful in making strawberries out of embroidery thread as well.

• The end product will have two dark pink bullion stitches in the center, two medium pink to the left of the dark pink and one medium pink to the right of the rose bud and a light pink to the right of the medium pink.

References

• Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread: Bullion Rose Bud Video Tutorial