Sunday 24 June 2012

It All Started with Scarlet Ribbons - Double Ribbon Handbag Charm

When I was a little, the class above us sang Scarlet Ribbons and were the stars at a local music festival... they also got to spend the early evening at the Kursaal in Southend, which was to a 10 year old one of the most exciting places in the whole wide world... they had a wall of death in there and I admit to being a tad disappointed when I saw it for the first time there there was no pile of bodies at the bottom!  At that time I wore my hair in plaits... this was after the incident when I had to have my hair cut when a hair roller could not be removed as my mother was going through her "daughter in ringlets" phase... I had mostly blue ribbons to go with my school uniform and I longed for scarlet velvet ribbons...  So I think that this might be when my love of ribbons bedded in and now even though my hair is too short for plaits, I have a rather decent collection of ribbons... just in case.
So this week as my garden has taken a bit of a beating with the rain and the wind I thought we could make a double ribbon flower bag charm with the aid of a little bit of hand sewing, which will bloom despite the weather... so let's get started, you will need:
2 yards of ribbon... up to you whether it contrasts or complements
Needle and thread to match your upper petal side
Ruler or tape measure
Matches
Felt circle
Air soluble pen
Decorative button
Handbag Clip
(You don't need an iron this week, although my mum did iron my ribbons and my socks too, but that is another story!)


Cut straight across the ribbon... OK, it has started to happen, the ribbon wants to unravel... light a match and  gently run it over the raw end of the ribbon and it will seal it... try not to set the ribbon alight, unless like my friends Marion and Elaine you want to check out the local firemen.
Pin the ribbons together so that the right sides are on the outside, at the top mark it an inch in continue to mark along at each inch, and at the bottom half an inch in, then continue to mark along at each inch.Thread up you needle and make a large chunky knot at the end, we are going to be gathering for England, so we do not want the knot to come undone... think Gordian with attitude!
 
Now we are going to do a running stitch from the corner to the mark half an inch in on the bottom and then up to the inch mark on the top.  Keep you stitches small and even, I have worked with four or five on each diagonal.
I find it easiest to gather as I go, working about half a dozen diagonals and then gently gathering them, you should finish up with a gathered strip of about 18". Firmly stitch with two or three stitches so that the gathers will not unravel.
Turn the ribbon over so that the front is face down and start working a spiral, catching petals with a slip stitch, this is going to look ugly, but do not worry because we are going to hide it.  Continue working around until it looks like an ammonite, and sew the end under.
Take a 6" length of ribbon and fold it over, stitch it to the back of your flower. In the centre of the flower, I have placed a little button to just lift the design a little.
Cut out a circle of felt which is slightly smaller than the circumference of the flower, pin it in place and slip stitch it onto the flower.
 
Thread it onto the handbag clip and pop it onto your bag... finally a flower which will not wilt!
If you don't have a local fabric shop with a decent haberdashery to source ribbons... I have Belle Fabrics in Leigh-on-sea and Bodkins in Thundersley or there are some fab ribbon sellers on line like Jane Means


And now, as is traditional on the blog, it is time to head over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone has been up to during this week.


Finally, if you wondered what it was that the 4th year of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary school sang with such aplomb in 1968, here is a charming version by Harry Belafonte.



25 comments:

Wendy said...

A superb flower and one which won't get weather battered! Excellent tutorial, too.

Anonymous said...

An amazing flower! I have never seen these technique before. Thanks for sharing. :)

Nicki Tustin said...

such a cute flower, thanks for sharing the technique

fatmonica said...

I just love this!I have so much ribbon lying around in knots all over the house so what better to do than make one of these!

CarolC1 said...

Thats a lovely ribbon tutorial. Must look my ribons out, not seen them for years. I wonder if they are still there. lol

Handbags by Helen said...

Oo, that's pretty. Another fab tutorial!

Anonymous said...

The aging hippies have now made some of these but have put a piece in the middle with things like N01 MUM written on them they look lovely. Thank you Ros for keeping them amused.

KC'sCourt! said...

Thank you for the tutorial. It is very pretty and easy to make.
Oh how I remember how disappointed I was too about the Wall of Death at the Kurzal! My mother had my hair permed every school summer holidays (week before we went back to school) and I would come home crying because everyone would laugh at me!
Was your school in Leigh-on-Sea?
Julie xxxxxxxx

Planet Penny said...

Great tutorial and a really pretty result. 'Scarlet Ribbons' always made me cry!

Free Spirit Designs said...

great tutorial!

i have lots of ribbons too, i find that they are one of those things that it is very easy to collect a lot of without realising its happening! :)

Made By Ewe said...

Good tip about the matches - I didn't know that - will save me hours of oversewing the ends in the future.

Tracy said...

You scared me at first and thought it would be another project I couldn't do since I'm allergic to sewing machines....but, nooooo! I'm breaking out the needle and thread tonight! Thank you! Very, very gorgeous.

Tickled Pink said...

Fab fab tutorial - I have a stack of ribbon and I can see some of these flowers making an appearance.

Christmas Pie Crafts said...

I love buying ribbon and not so keen on using it, but I must have a go at your flower. It looks so effective. Thank you for your tutorial - how do yo come up with all these great ideas? I remember Harry Belafonte's gorgeous voice singing Scarlet Ribbons - a sad song, but very memorable.

Jan said...

I've never seen a flower made in this way, thank you for the tutorial.
Thank you also for sharing the rendition of Scarlet Ribbons.

Jan x

Kazies Magical Designs said...

I also have never seen a flower made this way its lovely xxx

Carolee Crafts said...

That took me back and I can remember the school choir. Saw your tute on Craft Gossip and thought brilliant, thank you as always

Fiddly Fingers said...

How do you manage to fit all these things in? It must take ages to write a tutorial like this with all the pictures! I'm glad you choose to do them though, they make valuable reading. Thank you :)

Highland Monkey's said...

Lovely of you to take the time to do a tutorial. The flower just finishes of the bag.

Ali said...

Your ribbon flower is really pretty. Thanks for another great tutorial. Ali x

Anonymous said...

That ribbon flower is so beautiful and the tutorial is incredibly generous! Truly, the flower kills me. I'm not very talented with sewing but I may have to try that.

Unknown said...

This technique is really impressive. Thanks for sharing!

lovetartan said...

Ros that looks lovely on the bag - thanks for the tutorial. Can think of a lot of things I could decorate using this! Mich x

Mrs A. said...

Thanks for the excellant tutorial. Scarlet Ribbons was my fasvourite song as a child!! Hugs Mrs A.

stylesofcooking said...

Looks really pretty Ros and lovely on the bag.