Ribbonwork Revisited
By Helen Gibb
A sprinkling of ribbonwork flowers adds elegance to accessories.
RIBBONWORK is the art of turning lengths of ribbon into dainty flowers by folding and gathering the ribbon and adding simple hand stitches to secure and embellish. It's not to be confused with silk ribbon embroidery, in which 2 mm- to 7 mm-wide silk ribbons are stitched into the fabric forming flower motifs.
Ribbonwork had its heyday during the 1920s when many boudoir and clothing items were decorated with small ribbon flowers and leaves. The most popular flowers were larger roses and smaller blossoms with distinct petals. The ribbons used to make the flowers varied in both color and style.
The two easy projects presented here, a silk chiffon scarf and a sweet lavender sachet, use the same ribbons and techniques. A dainty lace edging has been added to a purchased scarf and the sachet. The three large scarf roses are made from silk ribbon, the cream blossoms are made with double-faced silk ribbon, and the lavender rosettes are made with rayon ruffle-edge ribbon. The techniques involve nothing more than pulling the ribbons into gathered circles, or in the case of the blossoms, gathering the ribbon into petals, then sewing it in a circle.
Browse the two easy projects presented here, then try your hand at ribbonwork.
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