By Anna White octobre 02, 2015

Tartan Inspired Giftwrap - The Ribbon Rose

This is the second in our series of gift wrap ideas and I have to say one of my favourites. Firstly because it is so easy but also because once you have made one rose you think of a million other uses for roses and you can't stop making them. So "not just for gift wrap" is the mantra for our tartan roses. Make decorations for weddings and events or as our gift wrap guru Jane Means says:

To make your gorgeous ribbon rose you will need: ribbon, a needle and thread, wire (I made do with a paper clip on mine but it isn't ideal!), a button (just a plain and simple one as you won't see it) and stem tape (available in any garden centre or my son used yellow and green stripey electrical tape which he uses on everything and it looked quite funky combined with the Gordon Clan Modern tartan!).

The Tartan ribbon Rose

We used about 0.5m of Wool Tartan Ribbon which is available in various widths on our website and works a treat for this little flower, however you can use strips of fabric or polyester ribbon if you prefer. The wool ribbon is available in over 500 tartans so if you are linked to a particular clan or have some Scottish heritage you can use your own tartan and make your ribbon roses even more personal.

1. Feed a slip stitch or running stitch all the way along one side of the ribbon (Crawford Ancient is the pretty pinky tartan used here).

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Don't be put off by the terminology a running stitch just means putting the needle in and out all the way along.....nice and simple.

The Tartan ribbon Rose

Keep slip stitching....

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Keep slip stitching....it only takes a minute....

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Keep slip stitching....right along the length of your ribbon or fabric.

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

2. At both ends push the tartan up the thread so it ruches in the centre

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

3. Cut a strip of wire and thread it through one hole of the button then fold the wire in half and twist all the way down. This will now resemble a lollipop.

The Tartan Ribbon Rose
The Tartan Ribbon Rose

4. Fold the end under and twist to get rid of the sharp edge.

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

5. Place the button on the ruched corner. Hold the wire and thread in one hand. With the opposite hand you will wrap the tartan around the button in a circular motion

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Keep wrapping....

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Oooh it's taking shape now and starting to look like a beautiful flower....

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

6. Wind the thread around the stem to secure

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

7. Cover the stem with stem tape. Stem tape is available from florists and garden centres.

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

Et voilà a beautiful tartan rose blossoms in your hands! Isn't it gorgeous?

The Tartan Ribbon Rose

We have been experimenting with combinations of different colours, plains and tartans, creating little bunches of roses as well as individual ones. Great fun! Explore our ribbon range hereand send us some pics of your creations.