A little lesson on Dreamscapes design – WH06 (the curtain)

Hi everybody – hope you are enjoying your Tuesday :)

Today I thought I would teach you some of the sections from the new

Dreamscapes design – WH06 (the curtain)

About the curtain

The curtain was made with 38mm organza ribbon number 103. There are two drops for this curtain.

1. Cut two lengths of ribbon long enough to make a knot in the curtain — the length can be cut to size afterward.

2. Use a clear anti-fray agent along the raw edges and wait for it to dry.

3. Drape the ribbons so they overlap one another — see picture above — and use one strand of white thread and tiny stab stitches (working through all the layers) to anchor the ribbon along the top edge. As you stitch, move the ribbon to form small folds for a gathered effect.

4. Knot both lengths of the curtain and use the same thread and stitch to secure the sides onto the fabric. Hint: Stitch only where necessary to support the curtain and to tuck in the folds.

5. Use a tiny stitch or two to secure the knot of the curtain as well.

About the roses

Hint: Make the branches first, then the roses, adding the leaves last.

• The branches form the basic structure (as they do in nature) and they will guide you with the placement of the roses and the leaves in the steps that follow.
• By making the leaves last (after you have made the roses) means that they won’t be in your way as you make the roses.

Make the rose branches

Click on the image to enlarge

Although the branches may not be visible on the design, rather fill them in:  Use a sharp 2B pencil and draw some branches, then stitch over the pencil lines. Make the branches as follows:

1. Thick branches: use thin pieces of green or brown wool and secure with a matching thread. See couching here.

2. Thin branches: use one strand of brown or green thread (separate one strand from the six) and make the stems in stem stitch or straight stitch.

Make the roses

The roses are made in several ways — cho0se the method which you like best, or use a combination of techniques.

Here are the different shades that were used in this picture. For the:

• cream roses: use 7mm silk ribbon number 77
• white roses: use 7mm silk ribbon number 103 and 104
• beige roses: use 7mm silk ribbon number 110
• pink roses: use 7mm silk ribbon number 48, 135, 122, 47, 102 and 37
• pink and yellow roses: use 7mm silk ribbon number 128

You will find the ribbon page here.

The roses (above) were made by using the stem stitch rose and the folded ribbon rose stitch. This stitch I have shown in my new Rose book which is due for release worldwide in early July 2011. I have also made a video clip of a folded ribbon rose below:

The roses (below) were made using the same stitch. The smaller roses are made with a French knot — wrap the ribbon twice around your needle.

Click on the image to enlarge

See how easy it is to make beautiful, realistic roses with silk ribbon?

The secret is to use the hand-painted ribbons with varying shades on one length of ribbon :)

Make the leaves

The leaves are made in ribbon and straight stitch. Work from the stem outwards and use a gentle tension to form loose, puffed leaves. Work over a spare tapestry needle (or similar object).

• Use 7mm silk ribbon or the larger leaves and 4mm silk ribbon for the smaller leaves.

• For the tiny leaves use one or two strands of thread and detached chain stitch.

• The ribbons that were used here are from my range of ribbons and the shades are as follows:

Pale green: numbers 142, 139, 34, 18

Medium green: numbers 33

Dark green: number 142 and 143

Stone colour: number 137

Would you like to make this beautiful design?

To buy the complete kit, you are welcome to purchase the kit here. The kit contains:

• the printed panel,
• all the lovely ribbons,
• threads,
• instruction sheet
• and detailed colour picture (A3 or 2 foolscap page size)

• Or contact your nearest stockist, which you will find here, and ask for the  Dreamscapes WH06 kit in A3 size.



• This is the Blog - WH06 list of ribbons and threads used (67.36 kB) of the ribbons and threads that were used in this project.

I hope that you enjoyed this small lesson. Have a lovely week   ♥