Sewing Craft Activity: Felted Flowers

I was tooling around Pinterest looking for a fun activity that would also teach my daughter a little sewing, including the sewing on of a button. I came across a blog where flower shapes of different sizes were cut from a variety of felt colors, stacked on top of one another, and sewn together with a button center.

Cute. But I wanted more... so I added scraps of patterned fabric and stitching to bring these flowers to life. And my 8 year-old daughter absolutely LOVED this project.

Materials needed for this project are scrap pieces of various patterned fabric, complementary colors of felt fabric, embroidery thread, and a button.

I used 3 flower shaped patterns that I made and used for a previous project - the largest flower is about 3-1/4 inches wide, medium is about 2-3/4 inches, and smallest is about 2-1/4 inches. You can find flower shapes on the web to print and use as a pattern, or hand-draw your own flower shapes.

To make one 3-tier stacked flower, choose 3 pieces of different
pattern fabric and cut a flower from each piece
so that you will have one large flower,
one medium, and one small. Also cut one of each size
flower from the felt in a coordinating color as the flower of that size.

For one layer of the flower, place the pattern flower cut-out on top of the
same-size felt flower and stitch them together with several strands of a
contrasting color embroidery thread, using a whipstitch.

Do the same with the other two flower sizes.
The felt gives each layer a bit of stability and thickness.

Stack the three flowers on top of one another with the
largest on the bottom and the smallest on the top, and sew them
together with a button at the center.

I used this project to teach my daughter how to use a pattern to cut fabric, pin two pieces of fabric together, thread a needle, make stitches, and sew a button. It didn't go without a few tears of frustration and plenty of knots, but as she learned, it got easier for her, and she was ready to make a few more.

Finished flowers can be attached to a hair clip or to a pin to adorn a backpack, hat or jacket.

My daughter put her flower on a pin and
attached it to her backpack.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.  Ecclesiastes 3:1,7