3 Creative Ways To Embroider Woven Roses
Woven roses are one of my favorite types of flowers to embroider. They have so much volume and texture to them. Plus, they look impressive and are very easy to create! So today, I wanted to share three different ways you can use the woven wheel stitch to embroider some really beautiful roses.
How To Embroider Roses
Getting Started
Here are a few helpful tips before we get started:
- Sometimes, the marks will show around the embroidery, so using a marker or pen that you can remove is helpful.
- I also recommend having an embroidery needle and a tapestry needle on hand. Tapestry needles have a blunt tip, which is helpful when weaving in and out of the stitches, preventing the needle from snagging the embroidery thread. Don’t worry if you don’t have one; you can also use the eye end of your needle to weave in and out of the stitches.
- These look best if you use at least six strands of floss. Double up the thread and use twelve strands when weaving in and out of the stitches.
Simple Woven Rose
This first rose is the most basic of them all, but it’s also the most classic.
- Draw a circle. Then, place a dot in the center and draw five evenly spaced spokes in a star shape.
2. Using an embroidery needle, make straight stitches along each spoke.
3. Come up slightly beside the center with your needle and thread. If you have a tapestry needle, you can now switch to using that from now on.
4. Begin weaving the working thread over and under the spokes, working your way around in a circle. If you’re right-handed, it is easiest to work counter-clockwise, but you can do it in whichever direction feels most natural.
5. Continue working your way around the spokes, alternating under and over until you have entirely covered the stitches. Be careful not to pull the stitches too tight.
6. To end the stitch, place your needle and thread slightly underneath the edge of the stitches.
7. To add more volume to the rose, gently fluff up the stitches using the eye of the needle.
You can keep the stitch by itself or add some leaves around it. I used satin stitches for this example, but if you’d like more ideas, this post shows several ways to embroider leaves.
Open Rose With French Knots In The Center
This kind of rose reminds me of a Damask rose, in which you can see more of the center of the flower.
- Draw a circle with an even smaller circle in the center. Then, add five straight stitches evenly spaced out around the smaller circle.
2. Begin weaving under and over the straight stitches in a circle. The first few stitches may feel loose and unstructured. Do not pull them too tight; carefully guide them around the circle.
3. Continue weaving under and over the stitches until they are entirely covered up.
4. Fill in the center of the flower with French knots.
Lazy Daisy Woven Rose
This variation of the woven rose stitch uses lazy daisy stitches instead of straight stitches for the spokes of the flower. I like this method because the stitches look like small leaves around the flower. Start by marking the fabric with a circle with evenly spaced spokes, similar to the basic woven rose.
- To make the lazy daisy stitches, bring your needle up and thread it through the center of the spokes. Then, place your needle back down where you came up.
2. Begin to pull the thread through, but leave a small loop. Place your needle at the end of a spoke, catching the loop that forms.
3. Pull the thread until the loop tightens.
4. Make a small anchor stitch over the top of the loop.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for all 5 of the spokes.
6. Using a contrasting thread color, begin weaving under and over the lazy daisy stitches.
7. Stop before you completely cover up the lazy daisy stitches. Leave some of them visible so they look like little leaves.
And there, you have it; 3 different ways you can make these beautiful flowers! These are just a few ways, but there are even more. Learn how to make bullion knot and cast on stitch roses.
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.
