Fabric Flower Tutorial - SARAH

I have been having a lot of fun making fabric flowers for my girls' hair, and I've been putting them on the hats I've been learning to crochet. I've even sold a few. The flowers I've made until now have come from ideas gleaned from tutorials I've found on the Internet. But now I've designed my own flower (at least I've not seen another like it). And I'd love to share it with you!

I started out by drawing a petal onto a piece of card stock to use as my template. My petal is about 2.5" long.

My template. You can see I decided it needed to be bigger than my original drawing.

Next I cut out six of these petals. I used a silky, but not too flimsy, fabric. I also cut a felt 1.5" circle to serve as my base.

Next I cut four circles of different sizes: 2.5", 2.25", 2", and 1.5" (as I began to put it together, I added one more 3" circle). It was a work in progress. Later, I'm going to decide I don't like the green fabric.

The next step is to singe the edges of all the pieces. This seals the fabric to prevent fraying, but it also curls the fabric to make it more three-dimensional. 

Barely hold the fabric to the flame, moving along the fabric, and let the edges melt and curl a bit. It's best to get the blue part of the flame, as on lighter color fabrics, that is supposed to prevent blackening of the fabric. If you've chosen the wrong fabric, it will immediately catch on fire. Usually the silky type fabrics will work the best.

Once you've singed all the pieces to your liking, you can assemble the flower. It was at this point that I decided I did not like the green. Mostly because that particular fabric did not curl to my liking.

I found some different fabrics and cut five more circles, and I was very happy with the outcome. The next step is to hot glue (or fabric glue would work, I'm sure) the six petals to the felt circle.

Next stack the five circles together with your button center and sew those pieces together. You could glue if you want, but I like the look of the thread in the button. Then glue it to the base of petals.

For this flower, I found a half-sphere bead that I glued to the center after I sewed the five circles together.

Now this flower is ready for placement on a headband, a hat, or an alligator clip.

I make and sell fabric flower hair accessories and rings. You can check out my websites to see all of my work... http://jennsbabytags.tripod.com/,  http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenilynn73, and http://www.facebook.com/JennsBabyTags.

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you?" Matthew 6:28-30