Small piece of Vilene or fine backing fabric
Sewing thread to match ribbon, a fine needle and pencil.
Hanah Silk Flowers.
Cut 30cm. pieces of the 15mm. wide Hanah silk ribbon. Measure and mark 3cm. intervals along the length of the ribbon with a pencil. Load a matching thread (double) into a fine sewing needle and tie a knot in the end. Fold the ribbon in half length ways with the dots on the outside facing you.
Draw your knotted thread through the ribbon in the fold, 1.5mm. from the end. Backstitch over the fold to secure your thread. Always start at the fold. Stitch as shown, with running stitches, rounding the corners and making sure the space on either side of the dot is the same. This ensures that each petal will be the same size. Always take the thread over the fold to pull the edges in. This forms the petal. Gather gently as you go to prevent the thread from breaking. The stitching on the last petal should return to the folded edge. Don't draw up gathers too tightly as this will make the flower too small. End off.
Sew the petals to the Vilene with small stitches into the gathers. Begin at the outside edge and form a circle, turning and overlapping the petals until you reach the centre. The Vilene is trimmed away at the back, being careful not to cut the couching stitches. Sew a few beads or ribbon French knots to the centre of the flower. Arrange the flowers on your embroidery and stitch in place when you are happy with the look.
Hanah silk petals made from the larger size ribbons are measured as 3 times the measurement of the folded ribbon width. ie 25mm. ribbon folded is 12.5mm. so each petal will be 37.5mm. This is the mark you will make along the edge. You can also choose to make 5 petal flowers instead of 10.
