This easy technique can be used to make a bud for any flower.These rosebuds can be made with or without the fine wire remaining in the selvedge of the French wired ribbon. This sample was made with the wire removed from the bud’s ribbon, and with the wire remaining in the stem’s ribbon. They were sewn with black thread to make the stitches easier to see. When sewing ribbonwork, I use a size 10 milliners needle and size O Nymo bead thread.
The rosebuds may also be padded with a small amount of fiberfill to make them look more dimensional. If you do pad them, you’ll need to carefully sew the top closed. Sew in the selvedge to hide the stitches. Color the stitches with a Micron pen if any of them are visible when you're done.
These buds were made using 3” of size 5 (1” wide) French wired ribbon for the bud, and 6” of size 3 (5/8” wide) French wired ribbon for the wrapped stem.
· Cut 3” of ribbon for the bud and remove the wire if you want to. If you’re using an ombre (shaded) ribbon, the color at the top of the ribbon will be the top of the rosebud. Fold it in thirds to make a triangular shape, and pin to secure the folds. Turn the triangle of ribbon so that the pink point is down. At the fold just above the selvedge, insert the needle at the edge and make a couple of very small stitches to secure the thread. This will keep the knot from pulling through the ribbon and will help to secure the gathering.
· Using a 1/8” running stitch, sew across the base of the bud. Do not knot off or cut your thread yet. Turn the bud right side up again. Pull the thread gently to gather, knot off and cut the thread. Do not cut off the excess ribbon below the gathering. It will pad the calyx.
· Cut 6” of ribbon for the stem. Wrap the ribbon around the bottom of the bud and pin to secure. Turn the bud and stem so that the point of the bud is down. At the fold just above the selvedge, insert the needle at the edge and make a couple of very small stitches to secure the thread.
· Using a 1/8” running stitch, sew across the base of what will become the calyx. Do not knot off or cut your thread. Turn the bud right side up again. Pull the thread gently to gather and knot off, but do not cut the thread yet.
· Turn the bud over in your hand so that you’re looking at the back of it. The length of ribbon that will become the stem should be on the right. Pull the stem ribbon to the left around the back of the bud to hide the base of the bud. Take a few stitches to secure the stem ribbon to the base of the bud, knot off and cut the thread.
· Turn the bud over so that you’re looking at the front of it again. Gently wrap the ribbon around itself to the end of the ribbon to make the stem. The wire will hold the wraps in place, but you may want to tack the end of the stem to hold it securely. If the back of the stem will not show in your project, you can also sew a small running stitch along the wrong side of the stem to hold the wraps in place.
Enjoy your beautiful rosebuds…
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