Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Fabric Flowers - 2 more styles ~ Tangled & Pinwheel


TANGLED FLOWER
[LOTUS or ROSE STYLE]





WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

*Scraps of Fabric

*Scraps of Tulle (diamond & the bigger mesh stuff)

*3 Different size circles to trace
(I used a jar, and the top & bottom of a vitamin jar.
My flower is 3 inches without the tulle)

*Scissors

*Needle & Thread

*Small Piece of Felt

*Hair clip, Pin Backing, or Headband

*Buttons, Beads, Rhinestones or some other blingy for the center

*Hot Glue Gun & Glue



First, you'll need to trace 6 circles of each size onto your fabric.
[18 total]



And, cut 6 squares of tulle slightly larger than each of the 3 sizes of circles. [18 total]
Also, cut 6 squares of the large mesh tulle slightly larger than your largest circle.



You will need to repeat these next few steps for each petal. Starting with the large circles. If using tulle, place the it on the right side of the fabric, like this:



Next, fold the 2 pieces of fabric in half, making sure that the edges of the circle match up,
like this:



Fold in half again, lining up all 4 edges of the circle, like this:



Now, take you thread and double it up on the needle by threading it
then tying both ends together. Fasten to open end of the quarter circle.
Baste stitch by hand along the edge, like this:



Once you get to the other end, pull the thread tight to create a ruffle type effect,
and do not tie off thread, like this:


I know its kind of hard to see in that last picture, so sorry!
It was a little hard with the glare from the shinny fabric + tulle,
but I think you can still get it.


After you finish one petal, you'll start over with the next one using
the same thread as the petal before.
Here is what it would look like if it were a 5 petal flower:



When you have all 6 petals of the large size on the thread,
pull it tight & hold tightly with your fingers.
On the back side of the flower, run your thread through
the first & last petals where they meet a couple of time, then fasten off.
Like this:



This next step is unique to the bottom layer only.
Take your large mesh tulle and fold it in half on its diagonal so it becomes a triangle.


Fold it in half again. . .



And one more time. . .



Now, place it behind a petal, with the point in the center and sew on. I decided that maybe the next flower I make like this I'll only put like 2 pieces of tulle on in between petals, because its cute and looks more, ummmm mature that way ;) But, since this is for my 9 year old, the more princess I could make it, the better. Anyways, if you want to attach it all the way around, just repeat until you get to the beginning again then fasten off and cut thread off.


Here is what it looks like from the front with all the tulle in the back.
I cut the excess diamond tulle from the petals before I
sewed the large mesh tulle to the back.



Now, repeat the steps for the petals for the medium size circles.
When you finish, tie off but don't cut thread. Lay them on top of the bottom layer,
and stagger the petals. From behind this layer, stitch the 2 layers together.
I did a sort of blind stitch, where I attached the top layer fabric [not tulle]
from the large petals to the bottom layer of fabric of the medium petals as close
to the base as I could get. I fastened it off and cut the thread when I got
back to the beginning. I suppose that you could hot glue them together,
but I thought it be too bulky so I chose to sew.



Ok, if you understood that last round of mumbo-jumbo,
you have to repeat it for the small petals layer. Attach it to the medium petals
the same way you chose for the 1st layers.
It should look like this when you have all 3 layers attached.



For the center of my flower, I took about 8 inches or so of the
purple fabric that was left over and made a mini rolled rose.
For those of you who do better with reading directions here is a link
to written directions. They have a ton of pictures up, but it was late a night
when I found this a few months ago & I just needed to see someone do it.
So I searched for a video, and I found this.
They're both the same method, I just needed to see it done. ;)
If you plan to wash the flower at anytime, use a fabric glue, not hot glue!




After I sewed to rolled rose to the center I hot glued the rhinestone to the center of it.




***



PINWHEEL FLOWER
Ok you'll need all the same supplies for this Pinwheel Flower as you did for the
Tangled Flower. I've made them with no tulle and they still look cute, so go with
what looks best for your hair accessory stash!


You'll need to cut 5 circles (all the same size) of each fabric & 5 squares
of the same size for your tulle. You should end up with a total of 20 pieces. You can go up to about 25, but then it starts to be too many pieces.




Once you have all of your circles cut, you'll fold them the same way as the Tangled flower. Insert the needle through the point of the quarter circle and repeat in the pattern you've laid out. For the tulle portions of this flower, I folded it the same way that I did for the tulle on the back of the Tangled flower. Once you have all your piece on the thread, pull it tight & arrange in a circle. Hold it very tightly & thread the needle through the back of the first few petals to secure it, then fasten it off.




I used beads in the center of this flower, but you can pick your own centers.
After you add the center, hot glue the flower to a small piece of felt, trim & attach to clip, pin or headband like in this tutorial. If I attach a clip I like to run a small piece of felt perpendicular to the clip & glue it so it is more secure.

3 comments:

  1. These are so cute Shanni! Did you notice that I finally made your yo-yo flower! Now I'll have to try these too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did! Actually I am going to tell you how cute they are on your post ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is something I would like to do but bigger and decorate them on my shabby chic Christmas tree. And of course add sparkle glitter. Thank you for this tutorial.

    ReplyDelete