Roses -SRE

At last this SRE project is complete ! There are three type of roses in this SRE , spider web, spiral and folded .I have tried fabric painting leaves and stems along with ribbon embroidery to fill up the design . Its better to paint and then do the ribbon work.
Spider web roses are in pink, spiral ribbon roses are in red and white, the tight pink buds are folded half -made roses. Spider web roses are so easy to make and look fabulous. Spiral roses need nifty needle -work and require some practice to manage ribbon as well as needle and thread together as one has to stitch each spiral as its made on the cloth . Folded roses can be made beforehand and stitched on to the cloth.
The leaves and smaller buds are ribbon stitch .
Out of all the three type of roses I feel that the Spider web roses win hands down as they are very easy and beautiful.

Gerberas -SRE

Gerberas are one of my favourite flowers apart from roses . I really love these flowers. Again this could end up as a cushion cover.
I have used two shades of orange and blue silk ribbons in the flowers.I am enjoying SRE tremendously as silk ribbons are available in the local market .

SRE - Ring

This has been done on satin cloth, the combination of silk ribbons and satin is truly fabulous , so soft and luxurious !
I intend getting this stitched as a cushion cover .
I made several red ribbon roses and stitched them on the cloth , leaves are ribbon work worked in ribbon stitch. The blue flowers are also the same stitch and I have used white beads as centres.There are also small white roses to fill up the design.

Satin Ribbon Roses

These roses are made of satin ribbon ,the leaves are artificial . Roses are my all time favourites ,maybe because they remind me of the ones in my fathers house !
Actually I had bought the length of red 1 " wide ribbon thinking that it was silk ,but it turned out to be satin. I found making roses was easier with satin ribbons as its stiff and easier to fold. To make life easier I stitched each fold , also prevents it from unravelling .
The leaves are bought from a shop selling dried flowers etc. for Trousseau packing course which I had done 4 years ago.It had been a 3 month long course and I still have a lot of leftover craft material which I keep digging into !!! I never thought that it would be so useful !

Ribbon Work -Roses

Ribbon work is applique work where the ribbon flowers , leaves ,bows are prepared beforehand and stitched on to the material. It took me a while to unravel the mystery of the blooming roses on cloth ! Of course the ribbon work can be complimented with SRE and plain embroidery .
Ribbon roses are made easily in various ways . Folding the ribbon at right angles and twirling it around the centre is the method which I have used here.
Paper quilled roses are made in the same way.The only difference is that we have to keep needle and thread ready and stitch each layer or turn to the centre, as silk ribbons slip .One can make these roses beforehand and stitch them on to the material as required.
Quilts , pouches ,cushion covers ,pillows, bags can be decorated with this technique.
The three pink,white and blue roses are folded roses.
The yellow roses are Spider Roses which are very easy to make and are made on the fabric .
Checkout the awesome tutorials on ribbon flowers here .

SRE - Flower Basket

A few days back I found a piece of jute in my treasure chest and thought of doing SRE on it. Really I have an amazing number of craft stuff waiting to be used !
Now I have bought a collection of ribbons in various shades but I am using green ribbons the most. The leaves are essential to bring life to flowers and for filling up empty spaces.SRE is mostly flower designs and I may have to go shopping for green ribbons soon. Please buy more of green ribbons as flowers can be of a myriad shades but leaves are always various shades of green .
This SRE Flower Basket jute piece is yet to be completed . Its my own design and I have to improvise as I go along .But it gives me a lot of pleasure so its a labour of love. I will definitely get it framed after its completed.
I have used Anchor embroidery thread to make the stems . I used to do a lot of embroidery earlier, now I get eye strain leading to headaches. So SRE suits me perfectly as I dont have to do any fine work or count threads !
Done it ! I added a few buds and leaves to give it a fuller look .
Stitches Used
1 Basket is made up of split stitches
2 White, pink, deep pink flowers, buds, calyx are made of ribbon stitch. Blue flowers are in ribbon stitch and deep blue petals are of thinner ribbon also in ribbon stitch.
3 Leaves are ribbobn stitch
4 Brown sprig is made of Anchor thread ,Stem stitch and lazy-daisy stitch are used. Straight stitch in yellow is used to fill it up.
5 Flower centre - french knots in big white flowers and straight stitch in the rest.
Material used-Jute
Check out -
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3725/beginners-silk-ribbon-embroidery-five-easy-stitches
http://www.embroidery-methods.com/silk-ribbon-embroidery-stitches.html

Silk Ribbon Embroidery- Sampler

My Sunflower is solitary no more,I have added more flowers and leaves. Actually I am trying out the stitches which I am learning and the result is quite good! There is no design as such but it may end up as a floral wreath as I am following the curve of the hoop.
The Ribbon stitch is very useful. The pink flowers, daisy ,sunflower and the leaves are made with it.
The centres are made of French Knots.
There is one Spider Rose in deep fushia pink .
The double colored flowers have been done in LazyDaisy and ribbon stitch worked with deeper blue. We can put beads to complete the centres.
I am doing this on matty cloth with the cross-stitch needle which I dug out from from my cupboard .
One can get detailed information about the stiches used in SRE here.

Silk Ribbon Embroidery-introduction

My next project is Silk Ribbon Embroidery (SRE). The beautiful rich colorful look has hooked me. I bought a whole lot of ribbons yesterday from the local market after showing a sample which I untied from one of my packed candles !
I managed to make a sunflower with ribbon stitch and french knots on matty cloth which I had with me.I also used the big needle used for cross-stitch or sewing woolen sweaters.
Actually SRE is quite easy if one has done embroidery at any time as the basic stitches are the same. Instead of threads, ribbons are used . Its done on matty or aida cloth or any cloth through which with chennile or tapestry needle can pass through.Silk ribbons of 2mm, 4mm,or 7mm are generally used.
Frocks, cushions, bed-sheets, saris, salwar suits , tablecloths , napkins, teacosy covers and many more things can be made gorgeous with SRE.It can also be framed.
The color of the ribbons should be tested as they should not bleed when washed. But if one is making a framed piece then it doesnt matter.