Greetings stitching world :)Today I want to show you how to make a Dapple Dawn rose.It is an easy way to make life-like old fashioned roses and this method can be found on page 64 of my new Roses book.I hope you enjoy this small tutorial…These are the threads and ribbons that I used, but please feel free to use your own favourite brands :)RibbonsDi van Niekerk’s silk ribbons7mm colour 143 Artichoke13mm colour 122 Touch of pinkThreadsDMC six-strand cotton841 Beige-brown642 Beige-greyRajmahal Art. Silk floss841 Gilded Bronza226 Gothic grey96 White45 baby camelNeedlesChenille size 16Chenille size 18Embroidery size 9 and 10Tapestry size 13Tapestry size 18What else?A piece of thin green or brown wool for the stems... or use all six strands of DMC 840Fabric glue stick such as Pritt ™ glue stick or any clear glue in a stick which is used for paper projects at school.Stitches used. Click on the name and it will take you to the stitchCouching, French knot, pistil stitch, ribbon stitch and straight/stab stitch1. Make the stemsUse the piece of wool (or six strands of 840) and couch in place with one strand of matching thread.Space stitches about 1cm (⅜”) apart. Cut off the excess; repeat for the stem on the other side.Place needle and thread on top of your work. Hint: Read about working with two needles and about making holes in fabric on page 20 of the roses book.2. Make the leavesUse green 7mm ribbon and form the leaves in ribbon stitch, working from the stem outwards. 3. Make the veinsUse green or dark grey thread and separate one strand from the six. Make the veins in straight stitch. At the same time, use the needle and thread to scrunch petals up slightly: make a stitch and as you insert the needle into the ribbon, move the ribbon to form a fold. Repeat for all the leaves...If you like, use brown thread to add a few more veins. Remember to secure and trim tails at the back, so that they don’t hinder you as you work.
4. Make the rose petalsUse a 16 chenille needle to make a hole in your fabric. Insert the needle and pull it all the way through the fabric to make a hole. This helps with the ribbon in the next step.Cut a 3.5cm (1 ½”) piece of the 13mm no. 122 pink ribbon and thread it onto the size 16 chenille needle.Working from the top, insert needle into the hole, pulling gently so that most of the ribbon remains on top of your work.Remove needle at the back and leave a small tail which you should secure with white thread.Bring needle and thread to the top of your work, near centre of the rose, and place aside to use later.Trim ribbon to remove frayed ends.5. Roll the petalUse an 18 tapestry needle and dip it into the glue stick.Roll up ribbon with sticky part of needle, using your fingers to press the edge of the ribbon against the needle. Roll until petal is short enough for the rose. Working quickly with needle still in the roll, and before the glue dries too much,gently secure edge of the roll with white thread and a small stab stitch.Gently secure edge of the roll with white thread and a small stab stitch.Bring needle and thread to top of your work (in the centre of the rose) and slide tapestry needle out of the roll whilst controlling the curled petal with your finger nail.Wipe your hands and needle with a damp cloth before making the next petal.Repeat for all the rose petals, slide the needle out of the roll and secure the rolled edge with a tiny stab stitch. 6. Make the rose centresBefore making the second rose, make the stamens. Use one strand of thread throughout.Thread up with the yellow thread and make the stamens in pistil stitch. Work from the centre outwards, wrapping the thread three times around the needle.Fill in the green French knots with 642 and the brown knots with 841 thread.Wrap the thread three times around the needle.Add a few more yellow knots, wrapping thread loosely around needle for a frilly texture.7. Make the second roseComplete petals of the second rose in the same way, rolling the petals and securing them as before.Add stamens in the centre.Hint: to form loose, frilly knots, have a look here.By not wrapping the thread too tightly around the needle and holding the loose wrapswhile you take the needle to the back of your work, a lovely frilly texture is achieved :)Shape the petals by gently inserting a large tapestry needle under the petals Lift them up and off the surface of the fabric.These roses are useful for adorning the lid of a trinket box, for making a lovely card, for wedding and bridesmaid dresses, for hat-making and anything else you may think of...Would love to see what you used these roses for!The Rose sampler for the roses book is available hereOr contact your nearest stockist for more information and supplies. Ask about classes for the Roses book and join in the fun!Have a happy weekend everyone - I hope the weather will allow me to go on a long, long hike ... holding thumbs :)LoveDi♥
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