Ribbon Crafts

Making ribbon crafts are a fun way to use ribbons of all colors and designs that we all have lying around.  Don't you hate to throw out all the little ribbon scraps?  They are all so beautiful that it is hard to part with them.  Making scrapbook pages and greeting cards as well as sewing projects all leave little pieces of ribbon behind.  Finding something to make with them is half the fun!  Here are some ways to use ribbon, scrap pieces or otherwise in ribbon crafts.

Greeting Cards

Small pieces of ribbon are perfect for greeting cards.  The main reason for this is because a handmade greeting card is on a small enough scale that a small piece of ribbon will still look substantial enough on it. It is a great little embellishment to add to your card. Ribbon can be attached to a greeting card using glue, double-sided tape, or even staples.  Making greeting cards is a fun and easy way to make ribbon crafts.

Make Ribbon Flowers

Ribbon flowers are another fun ribbon craft.  Take a long length of ribbon and wrap it around in your hand in loops while holding your fingers at the center so it doesn't come apart.  Use a stapler to attach it together in the center in a flower shape.  If desired, add more ribbon colors in the same fashion on top.  Staple them as well.  Now, to cover up your center staples, glue or sew a button in the center.  Now you've got ribbon flowers to use for embellishing a greeting card, a scrapbook layout or even a sewing project.

Embellish Scrapbook Pages

Use ribbon to decorate and embellish scrapbook pages.  One example is to sew or glue a strip of ribbon down the length of a page as an accent piece.  Another idea is to create a ribbon ruffle for your scrapbook page.  To do this, sew a seam all the way down a length of ribbon, right in the middle and without backstitching at the front or back ends.  Hold both ends of the thread in your two hands and gently pull.  You will see a ruffle gradually appear.  Make it as tight or loose as you would like and tie knots in the thread at both ends to keep it from unraveling. You can also create flowers, as mentioned above, out of ribbon and attach them to your scrapbook page.  Another idea is to make yo-yos using ribbon and use them as embellishments.

Ribbon Weaving

Cut out equal lengths of ribbon.  On a paper grid, pin each length of the ribbon all along the grid. Pin at both ends. Turn it sideways and pin one end of another ribbon on one square.  Feed the ribbon through the first of the pinned ribbons and gradually feed it through weaving one at a time.  Once it is finished, carefully remove your ribbon weaving and sewing it along the edges to secure it. You can use it in a sewing project or even in a scrapbooking project.  This type of ribbon craft can be addicting.  You can make these woven ribbon squares in any color and any size.

Make a Ribbon Jar

A fun display item for scrap pieces of ribbon is to put them in a pretty jar.  You can even use a vintage canning jar for this.  Decorate it up by putting a cute label on the outside, some ribbon around the neck and a paper label for the lid.  Put it up on a shelf in your craft studio as a pretty display item.  This is also a great ribbon storage idea.  You could get equal sized jars and put one set of ribbon colors in each jar.  They will be nicely organized this way as well as look nice too!

Rubber Stamping on Ribbon

To rubber stamp on ribbon, you can use pretty much any stamp design or text.  It is kind of nice to use a scroll design and have the image run off the edges of the ribbon.  Another idea is to print text on ribbon using rubber stamping as well.  To use rubber stamps on ribbon, lay down a piece of ribbon on top of a piece of scrap paper or cardboard.  Make sure the ribbon is not wrinkly unless that is the look you are going for.  (You can rub an ink pad over a wrinkly piece of ribbon for an interesting effect.  It will distress and / or artificially 'age' it.  The ink will settle in the recessed wrinkles for an interesting contrast.)  Use a rubber stamp ink pad that is mean for stamping on alternate surfaces other than paper.  A good example is a Versamark ink pad.  Let the ink dry before making further ribbon crafts from your newly stamped ribbon.

Sewing with Ribbon

Adding ribbon to a sewing project can be a lovely addition to the project.  Some ideas are to add it at a hemline of a skirt, sew double lengths of ribbon in contrasting colors to a hem, add ribbon to a pillow or even a quilted project.  Really popular right now are making sewn samplers.  You can sew on bits and scraps of all sorts of things to a sampler.  Buttons, ribbon, lace, scraps of fabric and embroidery can all be combined into a pleasing layout that looks beautiful all framed up on a wall.

Ribbon Embroidery

Ribbon embroidery is a ribbon craft that is coming back into fashion. Use silk ribbon for added durability.  Create lovely designs using a special needle and patterns that you can download off the internet.  Ribbon embroidery crafts come in patterns such as flowers, baskets, leaves and more.  You can hand embroider beautiful designs using ribbon.  Give it a try!

Ribbon crafting is such a fun and rewarding art to do.  You'll find that once you start creating with ribbon, the ideas will keep on flowing. Ribbon crafts are addictive and you r friends may just start making things out of ribbon too if they see the lovely projects you are creating.