A Letter from the Editor

From Ornate to Oaks:
A one-minute history of ribbon

As the world of card making grows, so does a crafter’s desire for ornate ribbons and embellishments to adorn her creations. While the objective of ribbon was not always to garnish cards, it goes without question that the beautifully decorated strands have always served a significant purpose in history. During the 17^th Century, a hierarchical France and an exclusive English Parliament were determined to make ribbon affordable only to those of nobility. This public display of hierarchy carried over into the Victorian Era, which introduced ribbons in women’s quilts, hats, and ball gowns. It was during this time that young women wore ribbon in their hair to signify that she was in a relationship and, therefore, not available for courtship. As a direct response to this fashionable trend overseas, Colonial Americans boycotted ribbon due to an anti-English political attitude, despite the United States’ first ribbon factory being founded in 1815. It was not until wartime came that mothers and wives used ribbon as a symbol of remembrance, making the yellow ribbon around the oak tree become a powerful American symbol of honor to our troops. Today, ribbon is used to adorn presents, cards, and Christmas trees as a form of decoration. Regardless of the use of the ribbon, it is inevitable that its presence will always be a special one.

To become apart of the historical timeline of ribbon and win a beautiful May Arts ribbon assortment, courtesy of i {heart} papers, leave a comment to the post above!! See above post for more details!!

Signed,

Sara
Editor-in-Chief

Bibliography:

Offray Ribbon: History (http://www.offray.com/hist.html)

The History of the Yellow Ribbon (http://endtimepilgrim.org/yellowrib.htm)