Ribbonwork Gardens

Ribbonwork Garden

Christen Brown 

© Lydia Lowe  7/04/2012

     I'm a big fan of ribbon embroidery.  I'm use to a traditional soft and pliable silk ribbon that is fixed in some way to fabric and then manipulated into shapes to become a flower or leaf.  The book Ribbonwork Gardens is so far beyond those techniques of yesterday.

     Christen uses all types of ribbon, including double edged silk ribbon which I had always heard was a no no in silk ribbon embroidery.  All of her creations are individual flowers, not affixed to fabric, but free standing and once crafted they're affixed to the project of your choice.  This allows for a freedom that the old silk ribbon embroidery never had.

     Now silk ribbon flowers can be added to all kinds of projects, clothing and home dec like never before.  Christen provides step by step directions on how to achieve a realistic looking flower.  She even includes instructions on how to add stamens and other embellishments.  Truly, you are only limited by your imagination.  It doesn't stop there.  Christen shows you how to create a variety of leaves, berries, buds, butterflies and dragonflies, etc. to really give your creations a realistic feeling of abundance.

     If you've tried ribbon embroidery in the past or you've never tried creating with ribbon, this book opens up a whole host of opportunities for creating with this inexpensive, readily available product.  I know I'm going to have to make a few of these flowers myself.  Now where do I start . . .