Vintage Black Velvet Purse

This is a small Vintage black velvet clutch probably from the 1940's. It has peach satin lining which was popular in the 1940's. On the inside, I've edged the lining where it meets the brass fitting, with Japanese rococo ribbon. The purse was embellished with hand-dyed rayon tape using a gathering stitch and ruching stitch. I ruched 1/4" wide pink velvet ribbon to form a small flower and added an old pearl for the flower center. All the flowers were created then stitched to the velvet with Nymo beading thread. A vintage rhinestone flower button was added among the ribbon flowers. Brass leaf charms were added. Different glass pearls that I purchased at a French "Puce Marche" were added to the flower centers. To create a bit of movement within the piece, Indian copper bullion was couched among the flowers. All the hand-dyed rayon tape was dyed with RibbonSmyth's Rainbow Dyes. The Ribbons can be purchased in the Outlet section. Way too many years of gathering velvet purses has resulted in a significant stash residing in the studio. Each velvet purse will be embellished and begin a new search for a new home via our etsy site ~
www.ribbonsmyth.etsy.com

Ruching Ribbon

This is a primitive sketch of ruching ribbon.

Photographing the ribbon in the process of ruching is difficult to see. Use thread that matches your ribbon or my preference is to use champagne Nymo for ruching any type of ribbon.

Do not cut the ribbon. To Ruch simply begin on one end of the ribbon, at the ribbon edge, and stitch zig zags with small stitches stitching from side to side. Slightly pull the thread to gather the ribbon. When a flower has been formed, usually five petals, tie off the thread and stitch the two ribbon ends together. Or to create a ruffle or seam treatment, ruch(pronounced roosh) as much ribbon needed for the project.

I end the ruching stitch with the last stitch at the ribbon edge where I began. Check out the ruched flowers on the black velvet purse in the next post.

Dyeing Results

Yardage of Rayon tape dyed with a variety of RibbonSmyth's Rainbow Dyes
The sheen of this ribbon cannot be caught with a camera. Some of the ribbon offers a mottle appearance which adds to the vintage aspect.

I had left yardage of rayon tape outdoors to dry overnight. During the night we had a storm and some of the ribbon did qet wet although they were hanging beneath a tree. On some of the yardage, the dye would migrate to one place on the ribbon. I liked the effect.

Hand-Dyed Lace

This pic shows a few yards of rayon lace that was dyed with three colors using our RibbonSmyth Rainbow Dyes. I used Antique Gold, Victorian Rose and Pansy and probably added some Topaz to the Victorian Rose. I do not keep formulas but do test what is loaded on my brush on a white paper towel or foam paper plate before I touch the lace. Wet the lace first but the lace should only be damp. Use a one inch foam brush loaded with dye and swipe different areas of the lace until all the lace has been dyed. Do not move the lace. Allow it to air-dry, then heat set with an iron. I dyed this lace outside on top of a shower curtain. Probably spent a couple of minutes dyeing this batch. This is old vintage lace probably purchased at an estate sale years ago. I think now it will trim a denim jacket.