Adding Stamens to Loomed Flowers

There are many ways to add stamens to your flowers. Not all are botanically accurate but who cares, as long as they look good?

I will cover four techniques but I encourage you to play around and invent your own.

I have made my sample flowers with ribbon straw but there’s no reason you can’t try the same techniques with woollen flowers or a combination of wool and ribbon straw.

I have specified a certain number of rounds for each round of petals so you can copy my sample flowers but feel free to experiment with any style of flower you like.

Loose Knotted Stamens
	Make a ribbon straw flower with three rounds on the outer round and two or three rounds on the inner round. Stitch with a backstitch centre, covered by stem stitch.
	Take a piece of straw and tie a knot near the end. Thread the other end into a sharp needle. Push the needle down into the centre of the flower, leaving the knotted end about 1½” above the centre of the flower.
	Come back through to the top of the flower and tie a knot in the straw at the same height as the first knot. Cut the straw.
	Repeat as many times as desired.
Joined Knotted Stamens
	This style of stamen is very similar to the first except that you don’t cut the straw. Make a ribbon straw flower with three rounds on the outer round and two or three rounds on the inner round. Stitch with a backstitch centre, covered by stem stitch.
	Take a piece of straw and tie a knot near the end. Thread the other end into a sharp needle. Starting from the back, push the needle up through the centre of the flower, making sure the end is flush with the back of the flower (you can leave out the knot and glue the end in place if you prefer). Tie a knot in the straw, about 1½” above the centre of the flower.
	Push the needle down through the centre of the flower at the same spot. Make sure the knot still sits about 1½” above the centre of the flower.
	Repeat as many times as you like to create the effect that you want.
Layered Flowers with Stamens
	Make a ribbon straw flower with three rounds on the outer round and two or three rounds on the inner rounds. Stitch with a backstitch centre, covered by stem stitch. I have used a loom with three rounds of pegs but you can use one with two rounds if you wish.
	For this style of flower you will need some purchased flower stamens and some glue.
	Take a few stamens and fold them in half. Dip the ends in some glue. Stick them between the petals of the middle round. Repeat all the way around.
Trapped Stamens
	For this style of flower you will also need to know how to make a gathered centre like the one used to make a strawberry. Make a ribbon straw flower with three rounds on the outer round, two rounds on the inner round with one colour and another two rounds on the inner round with another colour. Stitch with a backstitch centre.
	Take a piece of ribbon straw and thread it through the top two loops of each petal of the smallest flower as if you were making a strawberry. Pull to gather the centre but don’t close it completely yet.
	Take as many stamens as you wish to put in the centre of your flower, fold them in half and dip the ends in glue. Put the glued end of the stamens inside the gathered centre and pull it tightly closed.
	Tie the straw in a double knot and hide the ends inside the gathered section.