The woven wheel, also known as the woven spider web stitch, is a great example of a simple stitch that is versatile and beautiful. The woven wheel makes terrific flowers in almost any kind of thread. It’s used widely in ribbon embroidery for making roses, but it works well in surface embroidery using cotton floss, perle cotton, wool (it looks great in wool!), silk, and really, any kind of thread!
In the photo above, the stitch is worked with spokes of #8 perle cotton, and woven with coton a broder #25 in a variegated red. If you use a variegated thread for this type of stitch, it’s very easy to shade the stitch without ever having to change your thread. You just have to work out where to cut the variegated thread from the skein to get the shading you want.
On the box above (which I stitched ages and ages ago), the large cream-colored flower in the center is the woven wheel stitch, worked with silk ribbon. You can create very effective roses with silk ribbon using the woven wheel stitch – the ribbon tends to fold back on itself as the stitch builds into many layers of rose petals.
When working this stitch, it is essential that you use an odd number of spokes to build the woven wheel on. If you use an even number of spokes, the weaving will not alternate from spoke to spoke, and the result will not be the same at all!
Here’s the video for the woven wheel stitch (also known as “woven spider web”). I hope you enjoy it!
E-mail subscribers can view the woven wheel video here on Needle ‘n Thread.
If you’re hankering to learn other hand embroidery stitches, you’ll find a whole bunch of stitches in my collection of hand embroidery how-to videos.
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G’day Mary,
It’s one I know well but love watching you do it, also reminding me of important pointers.
Thank you. Cheers, Kath.
I would like to know how I finish this stitch on the backside, there are only the stitches of the spokes, and they are fairly big.
Thank you for the clear instructions!
Anne
Dear Mary
Thanks so much for the video on the woven wheel stitch, there’s no end to embroidery is there? wonderful, another stitch I must use at some stage especially with ribbon to create a rose, the box is gorgeous by the way.
Thanks
Regards Anita Simmance
This is my favorite stitch for silk ribbon embroidery. It’s very easy to do and looks so fancy when completed!
Thank you so much. I love your voice. It makes everything seem easier. Perhaps it is the confidence you have from doing so many beautiful stitch projects.
Thank you also for promoting the art of embroidery so it will not be lost. Isn’t the Internet wonderful!
Wow Mary, you just never cease to amaze us with your incredible Embroidery talents.
Can’t wait to try this one.
Thanks for all you do!.
Can we do this stitch in 8 spokes?
If yes, can u show us?
Thanks
Hi, Shana – this stitch has to be worked over an odd number of spokes. It won’t work over 8… MC
Wonderful! I found your website today and I’ve been consumed all day in watching the tutorials and looking at the plethora of patterns you have listed. Thank you so much! I’m planning some fun enbroidery projects for this year.
Oh my goodness that is beautiful! I am making a blanket for my 5 month old neice and I will surely use that!
Thanks Natalie in FL
Thank u so much for these videos. I love to see that and I am learning too. Keep going..U r the best.
I have a question about this stitch. What if you run out of thread before you finish the wheel. What’s the best way to start a new thread and continue the wheel?
Thanks, Judy
Sink the thread to the back under one of the bars, and bring a new thread back up from underneath the previous bar (from the one where you sunk the thread, and a little underneath the already woven stitches.
Hi Mary,
I love your newsletter and appreciate your passion for embroidery and your generosity.
I’m interested in stitching flowers that look like the ones on the following link. It looks like a woven wheel stitch, but is so much fuller. Do you know how to make a flower like the roses in the link? Is it a woven wheel with just lots of extra rounds? Do you have any advice for how to achieve this look?
Thank you for your consideration.
Wishing you all the best,
Elizabeth
Hi, Elizabeth – It’s actually stem stitch worked in the round. There are no spokes, but you start with a small center square knot, and build the stem stitch around that, working through the fabric. I’ve got it on my list of tutorials for the future, so hopefully, I’ll get to it soon!
Just want to say that I love your stitch videos, so clear and easy to follow. Love that I found you.
Wanted to thank you for your videos! You explain things very well and make learning the techniques easy! Thanks again!!
Jennifer Sisk.