Occasionally, we dig out projects in the studio that need to be finished, or at least that we need to re-visit, to find out where we are and what we need to do to get them finished.
This rose project detailed below is one such instance.
The project began ok, went pretty quickly, but then got derailed when we realized that the finishing approach that we originally intended to take wasn’t going to work.
Eventually, though, I’ve got to get these OFF this slate frame! So I need to get my brain around a finishing solution.
These three roses were supposed to be appliquéd onto an altar cover.
It wasn’t until after they were finished that I decided they needed a bit more “oomph” behind them – lift, and a bit of stiffness – to keep them intact and protected against movement that inevitably comes with the movement of the cloth that covers an altar.
This extra support could be easily supplied by some backing card or board, or, better yet, by a nice stiff felt.
But the little leaves pose a problem. They’re too small and fiddly, and I’m not keen to tackle the roses with the leaves on them.
This is something I have to think about. It is likely these will be re-done at some point. Maybe. Or maybe we’ll just pick out the leaves and approach the leaves a different way.
I don’t know! I really can’t seem to get my mushy brain around a solution right now.
The roses are simply an enlarged version of the little rose in the box top above.
That is the prototype rose for the Tudor-esque roses I worked on this Marian Medallion design.
You can find the whole process of this very small rose worked out here, step-by-step.
The larger roses take longer to stitch, needless to say, and they require more supplies. More supplies is No Small Thing these days, because goldwork threads are harder to come by and much more expensive than they were four or five years ago.
So I don’t really want to re-stitch the bigger roses.
I’ll have to make my brain actually do some work, I suppose, and devise a solution.
The big roses are about three inches across.
The small rose is about 1.25″ across (an inch and a quarter).
And that, my friends, is all my brain can muster at the moment about this topic.
It’s a problem that will stew in the back of my head a bit longer before I make any definite move forward on it.
I’ll let you know what comes of it!
I love that rose. I used your pattern and did two 3 inch roses and 1 about 9 inches for a Rose colored frontal and stole. We will only use it 2x/year, but they turned out well.
Put felt just behind the rose itself, and don’t worry about the leaves. They will just look like they’re a little farther behind the flower.
Just my 2¢ worth.
Hi Mary!
I have a suggestion. Why don’t you cut out the roses with a say, I inch border. Use a Hong Kong finish which will make placing a stiffener, your felt or card or perhaps a hymo backing of a couple of thicknesses easy to accomplish. (go to or browse online a tailoring/sewing supply store for hymo hair canvas. Hymo is the stiffener used in men’s and very high quality women’s suits. It used to be made with horse hair but now it’s just a very stiff interfacing. It comes in at least a couple of stiffnesses and is brown/tan in colour and don’t let anybody tell you that the white interfacing they are shilling is hymo! You could perhaps quilt the hymo and felt to give more body and lift. In men’s suits they will pad out and quilt layers of hymo here and there to hide where men have dips and hollows that affect the line of the suit. Have you ever noticed that when you put a man in a decent suit jacket he begins to approach Greek God status? ( or maybe that’s just me . You could use the wide margins to do your zzuzzing up to give them more oomph – perhaps turning the little rose leaves into an intertwined wreath of leaves! I think they are gorgeous as they are but one must make an effort for the plebs . If you need more info just ask! I’m here all week! ( In actual fact I’m here all the time. * sigh*)
I love those roses! Anyway, hope this helps
Regards
Margaret
Hi Mary,
Just a thought on the roses – they are beautiful by the way – maybe you could make the leaves wider at the sides, maybe in a slightly darker color, and outline them like you did the flower. This could make the edges flow more smoothly, without all the pointed dips between the flower petals & leaves. Then when you put them on felt, it is less fiddly around the leaves.
Have a beautiful day!
Ann