Romantic Roses

Silk ribbon embroidery is my absolute favorite form of embellishment. If you take a look at my gallery of collector doll clothes, you'll see that I added silk ribbon roses to just about every design. It is such a great way to give dimension and vintage sweetness without a lot of time or effort. In fact, I find silk ribbon embroidery to be MUCH easier than floss embroidery. Sure, there are fussy ways to make just about any type of intricate flower, but it is hard to beat simple little roses. Yesterday I made this candle cozy in about 15 minutes using only knots and straight stitches.

For this project, I used four different ribbons - 13 mm dark pink for the big roses, 13 mm white for the bow, 7 mm green for the leaves, and 7 mm light pink for the small roses. You can usually find the ribbons in packets at fabric and craft stores. If you want to get into some serious silk ribbon embroidery, eBay is a much more cost-effective source. I actually dye my own ribbon. I buy it by the roll from Dharma Trading, and do it up Easter Egg style with RIT dye. I have lots of colors on hand, but I always find myself reaching for the pinks, creams, and greens. It probably has something to do with the fact that roses often come in those colors :) .

As I mentioned, there are lots of proper techniques for making silk ribbon flowers. Quite a few articles and tutorials are available online, in fact. To show just how stinking easy it can be, I'm going to share two super-simple stitches. For both of these stitches, I use a thick, sharp tapestry needle.

The first stitch is a knot. It isn't a French knot or a bullion knot, it is just a plain old knot. Thread a length of ribbon (I usually work with about 18" at a time) and tie a tight knot in the end (1). Stick the needle into the fabric at the desired position and pull the ribbon through (2). Tie a very loose, airy knot close to the fabric (3). The key to maximizing your ribbon and getting that dimensional look is resisting the urge to pull things taught, in fact. If you do over-tighten a knot, you can always stop and fluff it up. After you make your knot, reinsert the needle into the fabric near the knot and bring it through, again keeping everything light and loose (4). Voila, a rose (5)! If you are only making one rose, carefully tie off a tight knot in the back and cut the ribbon. If you are making another rose nearby, proceed to bring the needle through at that position, taking the utmost care not to pull on your first rose.

The next stitch is the straight stitch. Knot the ribbon at the end, pull through (1) and put back in (2). That makes a cute little leaf (3).

OK - yawn. One little rose isn't all that exciting. The way to make an embroidery impact is to put together clusters of roses of multiple sizes and colors, like I did on my candle cozy. The cozy, by the way, is just a strip of muslin cut on the bias. I measured the jar (1) and made a pattern that was 4.5" wide by 6.75" wide (1/2 the circumference of the candle + 0.5" seam allowance). I folded the corner of the fabric up into a triangle, and cut the pattern on the fold (2). I folded the top and bottom raw edges over, stitched them into place with a zig-zag, and drew a heart in the center (3).

I generally don't start out with a set plan or pattern when I do silk ribbon embroidery. I started this wreath with big, loose knots using the wide dark pink ribbon. My knots aren't all identical, which is fine because no two roses are identical.

The big roses always come out a little puffy for my tastes, so I just smash them with a hot iron.

Roses need greenery, so I worked around the wreath, giving each rose two or three straight stitch leaves.

I filled in with clusters of small roses (I generally don't press these).

I decided that the center needed something, so I added a bow. I pulled a length of ribbon through the fabric with the needle.

I then tied the bow and trimmed the ends.

Since the cozy was cut on the bias, it was a bit stretchy. I ended up placing my stitching 1" from the ends and trimming the allowance.

I slipped the cozy over the jar, and grouped it with with a wedding picture and a vintage candy dish. I lit the candle...instant romance!