How to Make a Ribbon Rose

I bought some ribbon before Christmas, from the local market, wired edged ombre ribbon. Because the colours are graduated I thought they would make interesting flowers. I cut a length of ribbon 70cm long, removed the wire, by pulling it, from one edge, the base edge. At either end of the ribbon I folded over the ends, as shown in the photograph. With a needle and thread I sewed a running stitch along the length of the ribbon. I pulled the thread, to gather the ribbon, not too gathered or the flower would look like a rosette! I needed to form the rose naturalistically, so this stage was a bit of trial and error. Once the desired rose form was achieved, I stitch it securely together at the base. The wired edge allowed me to shape and form the ribbon, to give the appearance of petals. I think these roses have lots of possibilities, they could be used to decorate a hat, hair band, corsage, an evening bag and lots more.  

I got my ribbon from the local market, the haberdashery stall sells ribbon in 3 meter bundles for 60p, it's a bit of a lucky dip though, alternatively you could get it from VV Rouleaux for over £2.50 per metre.