DIY Mother's Day flowers

For Mother’s Day we teamed up with Silke Stoddard and Laura Shelby Murphy to create a stunning bouquet of ribbon flowers.

These ribbon flowers can be made in an assembly line. Make one bloom for a bud vase, to slip atop a gift… or, re-create the whole bouquet in an array of shapes and sizes. Follow the how-to below to learn how to make these beautiful blooms. The best part? These blooms last forever.

Read below the step by step tutorial

You’ll need:

• Assorted ribbons. For the large blooms, use Tight weave cotton ribbon 1 1/2” width
• For the smaller flowers, use Tight weave cotton ribbon 5/8” width
• For the “stemen” of the flower, use the Tight weave cotton ribbon ¼” width
• Green color Loose weave cotton ribbon
• Onda Scissors
• Floral wire (we used 24 gauge cloth stem wire)
• Tacky glue (optional)
• Needle
• Thread 

Step 1: 

To create the “stemen” of the flower, cut a piece of the ¼ wide ribbon measuring 2 ½ inches. Fold one piece of floral wire in half. 

Step 2: 

Slide the ribbon through the bent floral wire, and twist the wire to encase the ribbon. Tie off with a knot. 

Step 3: 

Cut a piece of the 1 ½ wide ribbon measuring 10 inches (if making a smaller flower, use the ⅝ inch ribbon in pieces measuring 5 /12 inches). Using strong sewing thread or two threads doubled-up, sew a running stitch for about 4” (for smaller flower, stitch all the way to the end with a running stitch). Be sure to secure the first stitch with a few backstitches. 

Step 4: 

Gently pull the thread, and ribbon will begin to gather to create a bunched or petal-like shape. Secure gathers with a few backstitches. 

Step 5: 

Continue stitching and gathering until you’ve gone all the way around. Secure with a few backstitches.

Step 6: 

Insert the stem into the center of the flower. To close the flower, match the ends of ribbon and stitch together with a running stitch. 

Step 7: 

To adhere the stem to the flower, stitch together ensuring you’ve gone through the layers a few times. Trim any excess ribbon at seam. If you’d like, dab a bit of watered-down glue on the raw edges of the ribbon to prevent fraying. 

Step 8: 

Cut a 15” piece of loose weave green ribbon (cut on an angle to ensure a nice seam!)

At the very top of the stem, as close to flower as possible, begin tightly wrapping the ribbon around the wire downwards, overlapping slightly each time. Add a dab of glue at the bottom and hold in place for a moment to adhere. 

To create ribbon ‘leaves’, cut 6” pieces of loose weave ribbon and tie around the stem where desired. Cut ends at an angle.