Silk-Ribbon Embroidery

Silk-ribbon embroidery is a romantic, old art that uses ribbon, embroidery floss, and perle cotton to work beautiful floral motifs and decorative stitch patterns by hand on garments and accessories. I love the antique quality of this form of embroidery, and I use it to embellish crazy-quilted bags and purses, as well as contemporary garments cut from a single fabric. Silk-ribbon embroidery is easy and fun to do, and even a novice embroiderer can create elegant floral arrangements and beautiful patterns with some simple stitches.

Five easy stitches
There are many different embroidery stitches, but I've found that just five basic stitches, used alone or in various combinations, can create a large array of floral motifs and stitch patterns. The ribbon stitch is for ribbon only, but the lazy daisy, straight stitch, stem stitch, and French knots can be made with ribbon or thread. Try them, and you'll see that the ribbon produces a different effect with each stitch.

Five stitches

When used in various combinations, the straight stitch, ribbon stitch, lazy daisy, French knot, and stem stitch can produce lively, rich-looking embellishments for garments, quilts and home furnishings. Here are five more of my favorite stitches. When used together with the five basic stitches mentioned above, you can create a forest of flowers, leaves, and stems.

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