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!).

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).

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.

Keep slip stitching....

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Keep wrapping....

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

6. Wind the thread around the stem to secure

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

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

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.