Ribbon Embroidery

Ribbon comes in many colors, sizes and styles, not to mention material. Embroiderers may be most familiar with the silk ribbon, currently so popular, and its counterpart, the polyester/organza ribbons that hold up a bit better than true silk. It's a fast and effective way to cover the surface of almost anything with lovely, embroidered motifs. The simple stitches unique to ribbon embroidery are easy to learn.

Ribbon can also be manipulated by folding or tying, not just using needles and thread! Candace Kling is a master of this art and I highly recommend her book, The Artful Ribbon. Reading through this book is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. I'm sure you'll come away with plenty of ideas for manipulating ribbons in all kinds of new and inventive ways.

Silk ribbon embroidery first came to my attention many years ago, in my "quilting days", through the efforts of Judith Baker Montano, perhaps best known for her crazy quilting. Her book, Crazy Quilt Odyssey, showed me so many ways to use these lovely, though rare, ribbons that I immediately went on a quest to find them. (They're everywhere now!)

This type of embroidery, also known as Rococo embroidery, may have begun back in the mid-1700s (during the French Rococo period, 1750-1780s) when the French court was very impressed with this manner of decorative dress. It is my understanding that only members of the French court were permitted to wear these fancy gowns, which were made by sanctioned embroiderers. Lovely silk threads accompanied the ribbons along with beads, tassels, cords, laces, trims of all sorts, and it all truly appealed to the Victorian needlewoman in England, and soon came to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America.

Through the 1800s it covered parasols, hand bags, garments, gloves, fire screens, frames, and other home furnishings.

There was a wide-spread surge of interest about 20 years ago in America, and it hasn't faded yet.

Many books have been written most recently about silk ribbon embroidery and these can provide hours of reading pleasure. They're full of detailed diagrams, charts, how-tos and plenty of ideas for today's embroiderer.

Ribbon Works!

Silk Ribbon embroidery tips by Betty Caskey

Threads magazine has an article on Silk ribbon embroidery by machine.

Garden Fairies Smocking Store has an email newsletter about ribbon!

Silk 'n Stitches

And a HUGE LIST of links.

Esther Randall's Embellishing with Silk Ribbon Embroidery (The background on this webpage was taken from a scan from this book, "The Wedding Cake Box".)

Splendid Silk Ribbon Embroidery  by Chris Rankin

Ribbon Basics. by Mary Jo Hiney.  She also wrote  Romantic Silk Ribbon Keepsakes.  A lovely book with plenty of ideas as to what to do after you're done stitching.

The Art of Silk Ribbon Embroidery by Judith Baker Montano