Ribbon Embroidery; Embroidery that Embodies Romance

If you are into embroidery, you surely know that hand embroidery is the oldest embroidery known in this industry. It was used in the ancient days as designs in tapestries and in lady’s samplers. Most hand embroidery projects are used to decorate pillowcases, wall hangings, table runners and quilts. And there are several types of hand embroidery and one of them is ribbon embroidery.

 Ribbon embroidery is basically done using ribbon rather than the standard six-thread string. Most ribbon embroiderers use silk ribbon or a combination of silk and organza ribbon. Practiced for years, this type of embroidery is considered as the most elegant hand embroidery. Ribbon embroidery projects are also considered to exude a certain level of romantic and antique quality; thus, this is known as the most romantic form of embroidery.

Learning the Basics of Ribbon Embroidery

If you are new to this kind of embroidery craft, you should first learn the basics;

• Fabric – this is important since I’s where you are going to stitch on

• Needle – you need a wide eye needle which can accommodate the ribbon you are using

• Ribbon – choose the kind and type of ribbon that perfectly suits the project you are working on

• Your own sense of adventure – yes, this is important. You should not be afraid to try variations of the designs and stitching styles. Who knows, you can be an inventor of new stitches and techniques.

Among the basics of ribbon embroidery that you have to familiarize yourself are the supplies, techniques and materials used in a project;

• Stitches – there are various stitches used in ribbon embroidery in order to create designs

• Chenille – this is the needle use in ribbon embroidery
• Silk – mostly, ribbon embroidery is done using silk fabrics

In creating your project, you also need to know the different styles of ribbon embroidery that you might encounter along the way. These are as follows;

• Woven rose
• French knot
• Fly stitch
• Feather stitch
• Fly stitch fern
• Lazy daisy
• Looped petal flower
• Couching stitch
• Straight stitch
• Split stitch
• Stem stitch rose
• Japanese ribbon stitch

Most of the above stitches are taught to beginners so you can surely do them even if you are a novice on this kind of embroidery. You just need someone to tell you how to it properly. If you don’t have someone, then you can always look for tutorials and step by step guides on how to do it. Here are places where you can get guides;

• Books and Magazines – most embroidery books and magazines offer tutorials on different embroidery types. You may chance upon a tutorial on how to make ribbon embroidery project.

• The Internet – if you don’t have books or magazines or can’t find any from your collections, you can always resort to the Internet. There are lots of websites where you can find tips and guides on ribbon embroidery.  You may find one or two of them useful.

Since ribbons are now available in different colors, textures and designs, you’d be really able to create ribbon embroidery with romantic designs. You can use your finished projects to design pieces of clothing like scarves, bonnets and even purses.

To embellish pillowcases, towels, quilts and framed artworks are other uses of ribbon embroidery.