Tutorial Tuesday: Ribbon Roses

I don't know about you, but I love embellishing things.  It's all in the details, and I like to pile 'em on (within reason, of course).  In this day and age, there's definitely no shortage of pre-made embellishments available, what with the scrapbooking craze and all.  And it's certainly convenient to be able to buy all sorts of little thing-a-ma-bobs and doodads and whatnot, but do you know what's even better?  Making your own, of course!

And one of the most versatile embellishments to make or buy (in my opinion) is the rosette.  Ya know, those teeny little roses often seen adorning dresses and lingerie, that would look just as cute on a greeting card or accenting your latest piece of embroidery...  They're pretty easy to come by and fairly cheap, but the range of colors is rather limited.  What if you wanted purple roses to match your favorite purple dress?  Or black ones for your latest gothic creation?  What if you needed really big ones?  Or you only needed one?

My point is, they're a handy thing to be able to make.  And guess what.  They're a piece of cake.  Believe it or not, all it takes is a piece of ribbon and few minutes to make a little lovely like this:

Cute, no?  And so simple!  Here's how:

How to Make Silk, Satin or Ribbon Roses

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Silk roses have many possible uses; as decorations, as enhancements on clothing for special occasions, such as a wedding, and for craft projects.  This tutorial will teach you how to make your own roses out of ribbon, satin, silk, or other fabrics; in fact, any long piece of fabric at all will work - even shoelaces.  Once you get the idea of how to make them, you will quickly be able to make instant roses in 30 seconds or less!                                       

  Steps

1. Begin with one long piece of ribbon or fabric (see first illustration).  Make it about 8 inches long.  If it is shorter, it is harder to work with, and if it is longer, there will be far more ribbon than is required for a rose.  Although, it doesn't matter in the end, because it is possible to make it out of as much or as little material as you would like, as long as you are patient and nimble at working with your hands.
2.   Note the color arrangements in the diagram above.  For this tutorial the steps are illustrated in "paint" colors.  They show each half as a different color: One as red, and one as aqua.  These colors are just to assist the demonstration for this tutorial - your ribbon will be one color obviously.
3.   Hold the ribbon at a 90 degree angle so that it has a corner halfway through the ribbon (step one).  Step one begins by folding the aqua half over the red half, and pulling it down horizontally.
4. Do the same thing for step 2, except this time you fold the red half over the aqua half.
5. Repeat this process in steps 3, 4, and 5.  From now on, you will be pulling the aqua half vertically every time, and the red half horizontal every time.    Continue folding vertical, then horizontal, vertical, and horizontal, over and over again until you run out of ribbon.
6. Flip your ribbon the other way around, so that you are holding the two ends of the ribbon between your thumb and index finger.  Don't worry about letting go of the other end (the original middle of the ribbon) because it is folded into itself.
7. Hold the two ends of the ribbon, and use your other hand (index finger and thumb again) to pull the bottom-most end of the ribbon out from underneath your thumb and index finger.  Pull straight down.  The speed at which you pull does not matter, because either way the rose will begin to take shape and you will not be able to pull any further after a certain point.  There you go! You have a rose!

  Tips

• The stiffer the fabric, the more pointed the petals look in the end.
• The thicker the ribbon, the bigger the rose.  The thinner the ribbon, the smaller the rose.
• To finish off the rose, you can attach a thin wire and wrap the two ends of the ribbon (and wire stem if you choose) with floral tape.  This will give a finished look.  Just be sure that the stem is proportional to the rose size, or it may look funny.

  Things You'll Need

• Ribbon or other long piece of cloth. (You can practice on a shoelace if you would like.)
• Floral tape (optional)
• Wire for stem (optional)

  Related wikiHows

• How to Dry Flowers
• How to Make a Wreath With Clothes Hangers
• How to Tie a Bow
• How to Create a Wreath
• How to Make a Lei
• How to Make a Hand Tied Wedding Bouquet

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Silk, Satin or Ribbon Roses.  All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.