4.30.2012

How to Make Fabric Flowers

I've been having fun making these beautiful little fabric flowers. I got the idea from Martha Stewart and tweaked it with a little sparkle. We all need a little sparkle, right?

These little darlings would be great to decorate just about anything- headbands, hairpins, picture frames, boxes or even to make a bouquet out of. Anything you can think of! And the flower possibilites are equally endless. Use your favorite fabric or ribbon to coordinate with your latest project and pair it with any combination of beads, buttons or other decorative doodad to achieve the right look. Layering flowers of increasing sizes would be a great way to give your project depth! I would tell you what I'm going to do with mine but it's a secret for now!

You can find the full directions at Martha Stewart's article but I'll give you the basic run down. Start with your fabric or ribbon of choice. She recommends using 4 inches of half inch ribbon or 8 inches of inch-wide fabric. You can really play around with these numbers to get the look that you like.
Start by stitching a running stich down one side of the ribbon close to the edge. Normally you would use a coordinating thread color, but this is easier to see. I also did a running stitch on the other side of the ribbon for decoration.
Once you stitch to the end of the ribbon, pull the thread tight to bunch the fabric. You'll be able to see the flower forming now!
Sew up the two ends of the ribbon, making sure to hold the bunching in place so you don't lose your shape. A couple of stitches will be enough to hold it in place. And that's your basic flower shape! You can use some Fray Check on your edges to keep them from unraveling, but check your fabric first to make sure it wont show once it dries.

I personally liked the look of the fabric flowers better because they laid flat instead of poofing up. Perhaps my ribbon was a bit too wide?

Now for the stamen. You can use artificial ones but I like the look of the crystals. Simply take a piece of wire (mine was 26 gage) 3-4 inches long and thread on your bead. Wire color is another place to personalize your flowers, there are a lot of colors available!
Kink the wire above the bead, leaving 3/4-1" tail above the bead.
Then wrap the tail of the wire right under the bead to hold it in place. You may need wire cutters or pliers to get rid of the sharp point of the wire end.

To make the cluster of stamens, take the number of stamens you want to use and position the beads at the height you like. I think it looks best to use and odd number and to stagger the beads a little. Bend the wires in half 1 inch below the beads so that the ends are pointing towards the beads.

To finish, wrap the wire around the center of the bunch, making sure it is below the area that will show on the flower. Now you can slip the wire through the middle of the flower and glue the wire on the back side of the flower and you're done!
How will you use your fabric flowers?

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7 comments:

momto8 said...

beautiful beautiful!!

Lauren said...

@Annmarie PipaThanks so much! I had fun making them, thanks for stopping by!

Kristin said...

Thanks for showing how to make these, I have always been curious!

Unknown said...

What a great post, I like the idea of how you put the beads in the middle of the flower. I'm a new follower and can't wait to see your projects, feel free to follow me back at www.iheartpears.blogspot.com

Lauren said...

@KristinYou are welcome, thanks for reading!

Lauren said...

@Hubba I'm your newest follower as well! Such cute baby things on your blog, make me want one now! Glad you enjoyed my post :)

Charlene@APinchofJoy said...

I can see these used for handbands, t shirt embellishment, among other things -- so cute! Thanks for linking on Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy! Hope to see you again soon.

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