A Ribbon by any other name is a Rosette

A ribbon to many is but a simple piece of cloth, one to adorn around a child’s hair for a bow. Perhaps around a present to give it a little bit of extra flair. For some even just a means to tie things together for a moment, a placeholder of nonimportance and passing time. A ribbon to me becomes a beautiful rosette that is a marriage of textures, colors, finishes, and applications to make each one coordinate with my hobby buttons.

The Beginning of Ribbon Mayhem

In Japan there is a hobby for enthusiasts of anime and manga called itabagging. In this hobby collectors are able to display their favorite pieces of merchandise in windowed bags with an arrangement of a multitude of items. Among these eclectic collector items are can badges of characters and for those with a love of crafting choose to elevate those simple buttons with rosettes. Character and crafting meet in the art of rosettes.

Each rosette is taking inspiration from the little bits and pieces in that can badge to bring it to life through ribbon. Looking at the colors that draw the eye to the button, the motifs to place charms, and even down to what shape makes this particular badge stand out among the rest of it’s sister pieces in a bag. One can think a rosette is but a simple circle with pleats but one can turn a rosette into a world of varying decorations with some imagination. A rosette becomes a heart, it becomes a picture frame of rhinestones and trims, or even a traditional rosette with a majestic tail.

There is a great sense of satisfaction as I start each and every one of my projects. As I gather my scissors, my needle with matching thread to every ribbon I'll use, the badge that will serve as my inspiration and the ribbon I'll transform into a rosette. I gaze upon the badge as I look at the colors that I will use in my base and will begin the foundation I will layer upon. I gather from the ribbon rack the pieces that will come together for a masterpiece. All sorts of patterns, finishes, and hues that will become cohesive under my guidance.

As I lay out all the ribbons that call to me I begin my frankenstein of an experiment. Which of these will the best to pleat? Which will patch the gold hues of the others and stand out? Which of these will make the character justice to shine among all the other pieces in the bag? Questions you would never think come with ribbon become the mental building blocks for your rosette.

I began my experiment with the most basic form I could find, a simple circle. I picked up my first 3" plastic canvas piece and hoped for the best as I attached to it a piece of felt to which I could sew my ribbon onto and through the canvas holes. I laughed at the terribly uneven pleats I first made and the unbalanced feel of the stark colors I had tried to put together. I asked myself "Is this something you would put in your bag?" and upon a quick no I knew I wanted to try more and more to become better.

A quick search of Amazon brought home a Clover Rosette Maker in Large and off I went determined even more to make my first rosette I would proud of. I grabbed my satin ribbon and pleat mania ensued in my room. Pleat upon pleat was sewn down as I went around the wheel one and half times to have enough for the outside of the plastic canvas circle I was using. I had finished my first layer and happily sewed it down to the canvas. From there I continued on the adventure of adding on more and more layers. Ribbon was a beautiful foundation but upon it to fortify the beauty that supplemented my can badge I began to add rhinestones and charms. I fell in love with rosette making.

I wanted to continue learning and I would look at photo upon photo in the "ロゼット" tag which was Japanese for rosette. I saw all the beautiful shapes others made from hearts, diamonds, to even picture frames with the ribbon. I wanted to keep experimenting and learning. Each project was a new learning experience and my very own storage of ribbon grew. I grew to love making heart rosettes of my own and even a few circular ones with no tails at all. I want to keep learning and spreading this pop of color with each can badge to others. Let there be beautiful rosettes all around as we weave these ribbons into pleats, bows, and even roses.