Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Fabric Flowers; Here's How!

These aren't your grandma's flimsy fabric flowers. These beautiful blossoms are tough enough to take daily abuse, which means they can be attached to clothes, accessories, even keychains.

Here's what you'll need to make some yourself: synthetic fabric (wide ribbon works well, also), a pencil, scissors, a candle, a lighter, a bowl of water, thread, needle and some random beads or buttons Here's how:

First- Find some synthetic material. (Cheap Dollar Store scarves work great!)

Next cut out some circles to make the petals. They don't have to be perfect- look at any real flower and you find that petals aren't perfect- they're all different shapes and sizes.

When you've cut out as many petals as you'd like your flower to have, get out a bowl of water and light a candle.

Hold each petal just close enough to the flame to singe the edge.

Go all the way around, until the petal is singed all the way around.

Not only will holding it near the flame keep it from unraveling, but it will also cause the fabric to warp, making the circle look more like a real petal.

If you hold the fabric too close and it catches on fire, don't freak out- just dunk it in the water.

After you have all the petals singed around the edges, arrange the petals in the shape you would like them, and stitch straight through the middle. Make sure that each petal is securely attached to the others. Sew several stitches to make it stronger and more durable.

Next, find some beads or buttons that coordinate with the flower and cover the center stitches by sewing them on one by one.

Make sure to securely knot off the thread when you're finished sewing on the last bead on.

Now you can sew the flower onto anything you'd like.

2 comments:

Just Me said...

These are so cute. I love the hair pins! Have I mentioned that you rock?

love.Jujube said...

Thanks for the tutorial. It is great!