Fabric Flower Tutorial

Follow these instructions to make a fabric flower you can wear in your hair or pin to a sweater or bag.

Section:Gallery

Sat., Sept. 5, 2009

Fabric flowers are popping up everywhere, especially tucked behind an ear in women's hair. Follow these instructions to make your own garden of fabric flowers.

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1. Thread your needle. Insert it on one end of a 30-inch by 2-inch fabric strip, then make a "running stitch" along one of the fabric strip's long ends, going in and out of the fabric every 1/4 inch or so.

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2. Once you've stitched all the way to the end, pull the thread so the fabric bunches up near the knot. Tie a knot to hold the bunching in place, but don't cut the thread yet.

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3. Sew together the two short ends of the fabric strip with the right sides of the facing each other so that your "circle" is closed. Knot and cut the thread.

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This is what your flower should look like now.

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4. Cut out two felt dots, about 3/4-inch in diameter. Hold one felt dot in the center of the front of the flower and the other dot directly behind it on the back side of the flower, sandwiching the bunched-up part of the fabric flower inside the two felt dots. The felt dots are basically going to hide the messy part of the flower where your running stitch is. Thread your needle with thread that matches the dots. Stitch through all layers, making your way around the dots. Knot and cut the thread.

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5. Choose a button, and thread a needle with thread that matches your button. Sew the button to the front of the flower, starting with your needle coming up through the back side. Knot and cut thread.

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6. Sew a bobby pin or other clip to the felt dot on the back side of the flower. Put the flower in your hair and feel this fabulous.

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The flowers you saw in the previous photos have raw edges, so they will fray. If you want your flowers to have a more finished look, like the one above, cut your fabric strip twice as wide as you want the finished flower to be (4 inches wide instead of 2 inches). Then, before you begin your running stitch, fold it in half lengthwise so the two long raw edges are together (wrong sides facing). Do your running stitch through the two layers of fabric and all your messy raw edges will be in one place--tucked underneath the felt dots eventually.

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Another alternative is to make two flowers, one slightly larger than the other, and then layer them on top of each other before you sandwich them in between the felt dots, as you can see here.

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