Polar Bear Ribbon Project, Silk Spider Rose Tutorial

Finally I started stitching the fleece polar bear.  I've leaned a great deal stitching the bear.  It is extremely hard maniulating the needles and fibers with the bear already sewn.  It would have been easier to stitch the ribbons and then sew the bear together.  I am still considering stuffing the bear then finish sewing and decorating it. 

I've loved playing with the silk ribbons but they are very delicate to work with.  When trying to shape the ribbons any knots I've made has gone right through the ribbon.  I've had to adapt and sew through the ribbon leaving a tail and then making two tiny stitches to hold the thread in place.  Then shaping the ribbon and tying a knot at the end.  Also I forgot to make sure my hands were not to rough.  When I started to play the ribbons caught on my rough hands and nails.  When I was taking embroidery classes the teacher had us use emery boards on our finger tips.  She also said never use hand lotion right before embroidering because the lotion can damage the silk ribbons.

The first ribbon flower I tried was a concertina rose.  No matter what I tried I couldn't make the rose.  The silk just kept slipping through my fingers even the 7mm ribbon.  I got a partial rose but when I tried to secure it with the thread it just passed right through the flower. So I made an easier rose called a spider rose.

The spider rose is really pretty and very simple to make.  Some people start by drawing a circle the size of the rose they want on the fabric.  The first stitch is made with a strong thread that comes up from the back of the fabric through the circles center.  Then the next stitch is from the center to the edge of the circle.  Just reapeat these stitches evenly spaced a odd number of times.  What this does is make a loom on the fabric surface. 

 

Tiny loom on the surface of the fabric.

Then take the ribbon for the rose and with a strong needle, I used a doll needle, plunge just the end of the ribbon into the circles center.  I suggest sewing the end of the ribbon to the back of the fabric with thread.  Back on the top of the fabric, thread the ribbon into a tapestry needle and weave under a thread over a thread and just pulling gently and you will see the rose starting to form.

 

Starting to weave the spider ribbon rose.

 

 

 

Almost fiinished rose.

 

Sometimes you will need to gently pull the rose up a little in order to weave the ribbon over and under the threads called the spider.  The ribbon I used is a poly knitting ribbon I found at a knitting shop.  When the spider rose is full you need to change to a doll needle and bury the ribbon end into the back of the fabric.  Again you may want to sew this end down also,  After I made the spider rose I took a matching silk thread and stitched some of the rose rounds down just to keep them from being pulled out of shape.  Use a fine needle to stitch through the rose a straw needle is very helpful, that is if you can see it!

 

 

Two spider ribbon roses I made the pink is the knitting

ribbon and the purple a 7mm silk ribbon.

 

 

The daisy I added is extremely easy!  It is made with 7mm red silk ribbon using a detached chain stitch.  The detached chain stitch is work around a circle.  The only trick to the daisy is when you pull the stitch to form the chain, do it slowly or it will be to tight to look nice,  After stitching the petals secure the ribbon on the backside of the fabric.  Then with yellow silk floss make french knots for the center.  Very easy and pretty!  I hope that I was helpful to someone reading this blog.  I'm working on some other ribbon flowers for tomorrow.  This is going to be a long term project because I intend to cover this bear in silk flowers!