Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 23 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 23 –Ribbon

On to the final stretch of what has been a far bigger project than I realised

Glue in Place

 

I now added some Glue and Placed it as far down as I could to the Base.

Pin to Hold

 

I Pinned the Ribbon to Hold it in position. I didn’t want it to slip at this point.

Final Sew

 

After removing the Pin I gave a Final bit of Sewing at the Base.

Retouch Paint

 

Since I have been constantly turning the Wreath some of the Paint was looking a bit tired. I gave the Pine Cones a quick Retouch with the White Paint.

Festive Finish

The Final Festive Finish. It has been hanging for a week and not fell down. I am so proud.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 22 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 22 –Ribbon

I can continue now the Glue has finally dried.

Wrap Around Again

 

The reason that I am Wrapping the Ribbon around again is in two parts. First is to give it more strength. The Second is to hide any patches of Glue that have seeped through.

Curved Needle

 

Since I need to Sew Deep rather than across I have changed to a Curved Needle. This makes Stitching the Ribbon so it doesn’t move easier.

Wind Around Hand

 

I Wound the Ribbon around my Hand. This was to give a good Length of Ribbon to use as a Hanger. I pulled the Ribbon tight then cut off the remainder.

Sewing Loop

 

I Crimped the End of the Ribbon then Tucked it Under to make a Loop. This was a couple of Fingers wide. I then Sewed across to Secure.

Double Loop

 

I then Folded the Loop and Sewed across again. This is to give it extra Strength so it doesn’t tear or fray.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 21 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 21 –Ribbon

Now I have made the Ribbon I have to add it to the Wreath. I tried this so many times I hope I have got the right photographs. 

Pine Cone Central

 

The most important thing to get right is to have the Pine Cone Central at the Bottom. Otherwise when it comes to hanging it will be lopsided.

Add Gold Ribbon

 

This Ribbon isn’t actually Gold but with two lots of Red Ribbon it gets complicated. Therefore I am referring to the Red Ribbon with a Gold Trim simply as Gold.

Apologies that it isn’t easy to see but then it wasn’t easy to take a photo of either. To hold the Ribbon in place I believe that I put a few Tacking Stitches in. I may have used a spot of Glue too but frankly cannot remember.

Add Glue to Wreath

 

This was far easier to do than to try and explain. This is because it needs accurate Positioning. I place the Bow where I want it. Then I Wrapped the Ribbon around and checked where it met.

Then I added some Glue to that part of the Wreath.  Then I Stuck the Bow in place. I also added some Glue to the Top of the Wreath to make sure the Ribbon didn’t move.

Glue Back Ribbon

 

Next I Wrapped the Ribbon around the Back. However I didn’t Glue straight away. I brought the Ribbon back to the Front so I could check that it overlapped. Then I added the Glue and Stuck the Ribbon down at the Back.

Add Bow Glue

 

This is quite time consuming as I have to wait for the Glue to dry. With the Ribbon now Glued securely at the Top and Back I can move on to the next part. This was to add Glue to the Top of the Bow and part of the Ribbon leading from it.

Wrap Ribbon Around

 

The photographs might be slightly out of order. This because I am trying to show you the best way to do this. I then began to

Line up the Ribbon from Below. I added some Glue then Wrapped the Ribbon around the Wreath and the Bow.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 20 –Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 20 –Ribbon

I am now going to work on the Second Ribbon

Sew Ends

 

This is going to be Folded slightly differently. First I put the two Ends together and Sew across. I think I tacked it one way then returned across.

Invert Ribbon

By Inverting the Ribbon the Sewn part now faces Inwards.

Add Second Ribbon

 

Once again I am using the Fold as a Guide. I place it directly on top of the First Ribbon. I then Grip it in place.

Add Tacks

 

I put through a Needle and Thread and remove Grip. I Add a few Tacks to keep it in place.

Pinch Ribbon

 

This is the difficult bit to explain. I am now Pinching the Ribbon to Squash it. Unfortunately it is very hard to get a photograph whilst holding it in place.

Take the two Ribbons that are now Tacked together and gently

Squeeze from both sides at the same time. This will give the Bow (which it now is) a Bunched up effect.

Tack to Hold

Whilst still holding the Bow fluff out Ribbon so it is exactly how you want it to look. Then once happy Tack in place to Hold.

Incidentally if any purists are reading I know I have a tendency to switch between tenses and sometimes say I and other times You. This is due to mental fog and I cannot always help it.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 19 -Ribbon

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 19 -Ribbon

On to the Ribbon. For some reason the photographs are making the Ribbon look orange but it is actually bright Red.

Red Ribbon

 

First I needed some good Ribbon. I had two nice thick pieces that I had saved from something. Apologies I forgot to measure but I think it was about an arm’s length.

Cut and Crimp

 

They had Velcro on so I Cut that off both Ends. Then I used Crimping (Pinking, Zig-Zag) Scissors on the Ends

Fold Ribbon

 

I Folded one of the Ribbons in Half. You will get a better idea of the Size in this photograph. At this point I think I should mention that I looked at dozens of ways to make a Christmas Ribbon online and tried some. However it would take dozens of blogs to go through the all.

Cross Ribbon

 

Using the Fold line as a guide I then Crossed the Ends of the Ribbon over. This way I could ensure that the Ribbon was equal.

Grip Ribbon

 

After I Crossed the Ribbon I used a Grip to keep it in place. This is because I am now going to move on to the second Ribbon.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 18

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 18 

Now that the Ivy is sorted I can move onto the next step.

Glue Holly

 

Using the Pine Cones as a guide I Glue part of the underside of the Holly and then Stick it down.

Sew through Holly

 

I have already Sewn two Berries on the Holly. I am now Securing them with Thread to the Ivy. This will help the Holly stay in place.

Sew through Ring

 

To ensure it definitely won’t move I am Sewing through the Ring. With the rest of the Thread I will add a Third Berry under the other two.

Holly Berries Placed

 

The Holly and Berries are now complete. I will repeat the process with the other two Holly Leaves.

Add Mistletoe

 

I felt that the Sides of the Wreath were a little Bare. Therefore I Sewed on some White Buttons as Mistletoe.

Mistletoe and Holly

 

I dotted around the White Buttons around the Wreath. Making little Clusters of Mistletoe Berries. In the above photograph you can see the angle.

It is not entirely easy to spot but I have place the Mistletoe Berries on the Wool that was Wrapped around the Ring. This is so it looks like they are attached to a Vine.

Berries all Sewn

 

I have now completed the actual Wreath. The next part is to add the Ribbon and to be able to Hang it.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 17

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 17

Back to the Ivy

Stick and Pin

 

After placing the Ivy I had to Glue and Pin in place. Now got to wait for it to dry.

Moment of Truth

 

The Glue is now dry. Time to take out the Pins and see how it is.

Wrap Ribbon

 

Since it is to be hung I Wrap a Ribbon around it. Then I can hold it and see what it looks like.

Not Happy

 

I am Not Happy with the placement of the Ivy. When I hung it up by the Ribbon it was Lopsided. Therefore I have Removed the Ivy from the Top most section.

Restick Ivy

 

I Pin the Ivy in place and keep checking with the Ribbon. Once happy I Restick the Ivy in its new place and Pin it. Now to wait for it to dry again.

Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 16

 Crikey Not Christmas 2022 Part 16

Back to the Holly.

Holly with Tails

 

I had left the Tails on the Tops of the Holly as I thought that I might need them to Sew to the Wreath. I decided that I was not going to do that.

Wind around Stalk

 

I decide the best thing is to Wind the Tails around the Stalk.

All Tucked in

 

I now have Sewn all the Holly Tails in so they are Tucked in neatly. However this has slightly rounded the Tops so I had to stretch the Wool a little to make them pointed again.

Match Thread

 

Since my efforts to make a suitable Pom-Pom had ended in disaster I bought some Red Buttons to use as Berries. I had no Matching cotton Thread so I had to delve into my Silks.

Leave Tail

 

I Sewed one Button in Place near the Bottom of the Holly Leaf. I left a Tail in case I need to use it to Sew on to the Wreath.

Double Berry

 

I like the way the Button looked so added the next one. It didn’t matter if the Buttons overlapped slightly. This is what happens naturally with Berries.

Triple Holly

 

I have now added the Buttons to all 3 Holly Leaf Pairs. I think the Triple Holly has come out smashing. They are certainly much better than with the Pom-Poms.