How to Embroider a Rose (Easy Woven Wheel Stitch)

Start by drawing a small circle on your fabric with a fabric marker, then divide it into five even wedges, like slices of a pie. Those five lines are the skeleton your rose weaves around, so keep them roughly equal.

Pop the fabric into your hoop and pull it tight as a drum. Taut fabric keeps every stitch even and stops the rose from bunching. A drawn guide also keeps the finished flower round instead of lopsided.

Thread your needle and bring it up at the outer edge of one guideline. Lay a straight stitch from the rim in toward the center, then work around the circle until all five spokes meet in the middle. You end up with a five-armed star.

Keep the floss taut as you go so each spoke sits crisp and flat against the fabric. These spokes carry the whole rose, so a little care here pays off later.

Before you weave, take a look at your star. You want five spokes anchored firmly and radiating out evenly from the center point. That odd number is not random - five spokes are what let the weave spiral without doubling back on itself.

Bring your needle up right beside the center, ready to start weaving. At this stage the whole thing looks like a small pink asterisk sitting inside your drawn circle.

Now the fun part. Working from the center out, slide your needle over one spoke, then under the next, and keep circling in the same direction. This is where the flat star turns into a flower.

Do not pierce the fabric while you weave - your floss only rides over and under the spokes, never through the cloth. That over-under rhythm is exactly what builds the layered, petal-like look of a rose.

Keep circling, letting the floss ride a little loosely so the petals stay soft and slightly raised instead of pulled flat. Each full pass covers a bit more of the spokes and the center starts to look like curled rose petals.

Watch the rows spiral outward. Every so often, nudge the floss inward with your needle so the rings sit snug against each other and there are no gaps showing through.

Keep weaving until the floss fills the whole circle and the spokes disappear under the layers of petals. The last few rounds should hug the outer rim of your drawn guide.

When the guideline is fully covered and the rose looks plump and round, you are done weaving. Take your needle back to one of the outer petals, ready to secure the tail.

Press and fluff the finished rose gently with your fingertip so it sits full and round. Then take the needle down through the fabric at the outer edge, flip the hoop over, and weave the tail under a few stitches on the back to lock it in. Trim the excess floss close.

To round out the flower, add a leaf or two beside it in green floss. A lazy daisy stitch makes a quick leaf, or fill a leaf shape in with a satin stitch for something more solid.