Before you make roses you need to make a tool for making the roses. It is very simple to make. You need a #24 tapestry needle, a dowel and some super glue. The one that you see in the photo is one that I made many years ago. It is an unsuccessful turned piece of walnut that might have been a table leg if it had turned out. It was my first attempt at turning on a lathe. This is another good example of "Waste not. Want not." I drilled a hole in the end of the wood the same size as the needle. I cut about a 1/16" piece of the end of the needle leaving the eye open on top. If it is rough you can smooth it with a file.
For the roses you will need SILK ribbon. Yes I am shouting that word. Do not attempt this with synthetics. You will only be frustrated by the glue not holding. So....Silk ribbon, white glue, your needle tool and patience. Oh and a pair of small scissors to cut the ribbon.
1. Slide the end of the ribbon between the two prongs of the needle tool. Then put a little glue on the tab and fold it over onto the ribbon on the other side. Pinch the two layers of ribbon together until they hold.
2. Twist the ribbon towards yourself and put a dot of glue on top of the part closest to yourself.
3. Roll the tool to the left and let the glue make contact with the body of the rose. Hold until it sticks.
4. Now fold the ribbon away from yourself and put a dot of glue on the tail. Again, roll it to the left to catch the glue.
Repeat this step two or three times, depending on the size of rose you want when finished. The finished rose here is once towards yourself and 3 times away. If you just want a bud, only do the first one or two steps.
It takes some practice to do this so that it really looks like a rose. Expect to ruin a few before you get it right.
I had a friend that learned to do this the same time that I did. He made beautiful roses. Somehow they always turned out face down on the needle. No one could ever figure out why. So keep at it and be sure to look at the bottom! You might just be a backwards and upside down rose maker!
After you have practiced, you can decorate beds, clothes, hats and even make wedding bouquets with what your roses. Get to work!
See you tomorrow.
5 comments:
What a loovely beed. Have you made it yourself ? I myself do mostly scrapping in my sparetime but would love to have more time to minatures. But with two small children the evenings are not enough. I love your blog and the things you do and is following it weekly.
Hi! I just scrolled through a long list of your tutorials to find this one! I knew it was here somewhere!
I'm going to "try" to make some silk roses for my Christmas ornament project. Wish me luck! :D
Thanks for this and ALL of your great tutorials!
That bed is so beautiful! The fabric has such a nice drape to it! Very real looking, and the colors are lovely and soft. Nice contrast to the dark headboard.
Ok so I know this is a very late question on this :) but how did you cut the needle to make the tool?
I just caught up (again) and decided to use some of the tags and look at some things again- may not have been my best idea, because now I am just re-reading everything- and I started at the quilt shop - lol
Ajc2103, I simply used a good pair of side cutters(pliers). Then I filed the ends smooth.
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