Under a Blue Moon

Decor, cooking, organization, all the pretty things

Project No. 8 and a tutorial

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Project No. 8 of the online art retreat was a simple embellished card.  The small flowers were supposed to be made using rick-rack but I didn't have any in the colors I needed so I decided to make little ribbon flowers instead. 

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The little flowers remind me a bit of flor de fuxico only on a teeny scale.  I found the directions on some website and now I can't find it again.  I wanted to show you how they are made so I had the bright idea to do a tutorial.

Ribbon Flower Tutorial

Step 1.  File fingernails and trim off ragged cuticles so it doesn't look like you work on cars for a living.

Step 2.  Cut five 1-inch lengths of ribbon.  I am using 1/2" wide craft seam binding from the Martha Stewart Crafts line.  Have a threaded needle ready.

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Step 3.  Fold ribbon, making a mitred edge.

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Step 4.  Fold mitred edge in on itself, so the ends of the ribbon line up together (this was hard to photograph…).  Don't worry about the ends of the ribbon being the same length as we are going to trim them anyway.

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This is how it should look:

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And this is what the back looks like:

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Step 5.  Thread the petal on the needle just slightly below the triangle top of the petal.

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Step 6.  Trim the ends of the ribbon about 1/8" below the needle.

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It will look like this:

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Step 7.  Leaving the first petal on the needle, repeat the steps with the other four pieces of ribbon.

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Step 8.  Now pull the needle through and gather the petals as tight as you can.  Pull a stitch through the first petal so you make a circle of petals and stitch down in the back.  I'm really sorry this picture is blurry….

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There you have it.  A little ribbon flower.

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Step 9.  You can stitch on a few beads or a teeny button in the center to finish off your flower. 

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Andrea Filed Under: Musings

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Comments

  1. Kim McBirnie says

    I love it! I didn’t want to start anything big tonight, but I certainly could manage to have a go at some very pretty flowers – are they terribly addictive?

  3. Mary says

    Andrea…those are the cutest little flowers. I don’t think I could do that anymore, I have problems threading a needle. What a great tutorial!

  5. Bren says

    Oh . . how love those little posies! (& I just got some of the MS seam bindings the other week!) I laughed at myself because I had to read step one over several times. . . & couldn’t figure out why your fingernails needed to be smoothed . . . then I got it! lol. (by the way. . . you nails look fine!) xo, Bren

  10. Karen says

    Those flowers are great.

    You already got me interested in silk ribbon embroidery, which led to checking out various ribbon craft books from the library. I still haven’t done anything except look at the books, though.

    These look like a lot of fun. I may actually try them.

    Thanks!

  15. Patricia Eaton says

    Well, OK, I happen to have some of “Martha’s” seam binding, so I have no reason not to try these gorgeous tiny little flowers. Leave it to you to entice me to try something else….and learn lots of wonderful stuff while seeing all your “good stuff.” Thank you so much for sharing…I’m trying this later tonight. Pat

  17. Linnea says

    Your nails are pretty, and your flowers are so intricate and tiny! Thanks you for sharing the tutorial and I hope you’re enjoying a relaxing Sunday!
    xox,
    Linnea

  19. Amy Bauer says

    Wow. When I saw your Flickr posting, I thought those were purchased posies! Thanks so much for the tutorial. I’m not much of a seamstress, but I can handle this! – Amy Bauer