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| Silk Ribbon Embroidery on a small scale |
Ribbon embroidery pins, pendants,
bracelets or Christmas ornaments are creative crafts with fast results. Make
your own design or purchase a book of small designs. You can make your miniature needlework
item square, round or heart shaped.
You'll need:
A small piece of fabric for the
background
Embroidery floss
Needle
Silk ribbon in 4mm size and maybe 2mm
size in colors you want to use
Cardboard for a template
Felt or your choice of backing for
your completed piece
Pin back if you want to make a
pin
I started with about a 3-inch circle,
using a template cut from cardboard, and used black moire fabric for the
background. I cut the moire to the 3 inch size, but started the embroidery about
half to three-quarters of an inch from the edge all around. The design is worked without an
embroidery hoop and without a pattern. If you want to use an embroidery hoop, stitch your little piece of fabric onto a larger one, and cut out the middle of the large piece of fabric where the stitching will be done.
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| Stem Stitch in embroidery floss is first |
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| Leaves are Japanese ribbon stitch |
Two-strand embroidery thread creates
the circular stem with stem stitch (like a back stitch) and 4mm silk ribbon in
pink, yellow and green are used for flowers and leaves.
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| Flower is lazy daisy stitch with French knot center |
Stitches are Japanese ribbon stitch,
lazy daisy and a French knot in the center of the large flower.
Once you complete the front of the
item, cut another cardboard circle to use for stiffener. Make it about an inch smaller in diameter than the original circle. Cut a piece of
felt the same size as the cardboard circle.
Sew around the edge of the fabric and
place the cardboard on the back inside the stitching. Gather it all around and
backstitch a couple of times to secure the gathers. (I used a color you could see, but you'll want to use a color that matches the background fabric.) Cut the
thread.
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| Back with Cardboard Stiffener in Place |
If you're making a piece of jewelry
such as a pin or pendant, decide how you want to attach the pin. You can glue a metal purchased pinback
to the cardboard, or punch it from front to back in the cardboard. A pendant can
be hung with a purchased slide or you can use a piece of silk ribbon attached at
the top before adding the felt back. A Christmas ornament can also hang with
silk ribbon.
Secure the felt to the back with
hand stitches along the edge or glue if you prefer.
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| Completed Design is about 2 1/4 inches |
Here's a book that may give you some ideas for miniature designs. It's
American School of Needlework's Big Book of 101 Little Ribbon Embroidery Designs with designs
suitable for jewelry or Christmas ornaments.
Other ideas: You can use a large button instead of cardboard, and attach the fabric to the button before you start the embroidery.
