Tuesday, August 18, 2009

How to embroider plaid with ribbons from the book Ribbon Embroidery by Natalie Bellanger-Clement

This is one of the prettiest books and it is packed full of charming techniques including something I never would have thought of, making plaid with ribbon.
Ribbon Embroidery: Simple Stitches for Easy Embellishments
By
Natalie Bellanger-Clement

"As any stitcher knows, embroidery is one of the best ways to personalize any garment or home accessory. Using ribbon in your project provides a two-fold benefit: it’s not only beautiful, it makes a stronger impact. Designs can be finished in half the time, since ribbon is generally much wider than standard embroidery thread. Any fabric can be dressed up with a few well-placed stitches.

But you don’t have to be confined to a pattern—with some basic knowledge and imagination, you can create your own designs in no time. You’ll learn a wide variety of stitches, from vines and flower petals to latticework and lines that evoke flames. Each stitch is described and illustrated in detail—and all of the projects can be completed in fewer than six steps! A handful of larger templates highlight suggested stitch combinations to get your creativity flowing, but the most beautiful designs are sure to be the ones you create on your own.

NATALIE BELLANGER-CLEMENT is a textile professor who also teaches embroidery. She is a frequent contributor to Marie Claire Idées, and lives in Paris, France."

(Marie Claire Idées is a great magazine, it is so elegant, it's all in french but the pictures and patterns are great)

Well, they call it the woven stitch but when I saw one of the variations of ribbon weaving-I saw PLAID! My fave! So I just had to give it a try.

I decided my canvas was going to be a recycled sweater, not a felted one because I thought it would be too hard to stitch the ribbon onto so I went with a medium weight sweater.

I gathered up a bunch of different colors and widths of ribbon.
I cut my sweater to a rough size for the toilet paper cozy and hooped it. I didn't back it, I was just careful not to stretch it.
I started with a focal ribbon that had the word "relax" printed on it. (my homage to Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
Here it is from the back with all the ribbons woven in. The directions in Ribbon Embroidery: Simple Stitches for Easy Embellishments were really easy to follow and very clear. It went like a dream.

I then did press a small rectangle of interfacing on the back to secure all the ends.
Well here you have it a Plaid ribbon embroidered toilet paper cozy. In case you're counting that's 4 T.P. cozies I have made. I am already working on another one but it is crocheted so it is taking be a bit of time. I will share it with you as soon as it's done.

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3 comments:

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Cute. That would make a neat cap as well.

Will you run out of bathrooms soon? LOL.

Tammy said...

That is neat. I love ribbon, and the cover of that book alone is gorgeous.

EileenHull said...

you never cease to amaze me- great project

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