Making Fabric Flowers

I’ve wanted to make fabric flowers for awhile.  They’re just so pretty!  I found blogs that showed how awhile ago, including Little Birdie Secrets and Emily’s Little World. I pinned them to my Pinterest boards, but I’d never taken the time to make any.

I became inspired to go ahead and make some when my daughter shared her interest in having some new pretty headbands.  A perfect reason to take the time! They’re so expensive to buy new, but you can make your own cheaply, and the sky’s the limit for colors and fabric choices.

If you’d like to make your own you’ll need a few simple supplies:

synthetic materials like satin, tulle, organza, or taffeta

candle

beads or buttons

needle and matching thread

headbands or rubberbands

bowl of water and tongs

optional: glue gun, tacky glue, felt

For my larger flower I cut three circles of varying sizes ( 3 1/2 inch, 2 1/2 in., 1 1/4 in.) out of a crushed purple satin.  I also cut three different sizes (3 1/4 in., 2 3/4 in., and 2 1/4 in.) from white and plum colored tulle.   I freehand cut my circles because they don’t need to be completely round. As they melt they’ll curl and shrink and any irregularities on the edges will just become a part of the unique petal shape.

Please use caution as you begin melting your fabric.  Because you are using an open flame it’s best to use tongs to keep your fingers safely away from the heat, especially with the smaller pieces.  Also, keep a bowl of water nearby in the off chance that your fabric catches on fire.  I rarely had problems, but it’s always a possibility so please be careful.

Begin by holding your fabric over the flame near enough for the heat to begin to melt the fabric.  Continue turning your circle until you’ve melted all of the edges.  If your fabric becomes singed too much, you can clip the black away with scissors and remelt it.

The tulle melts very easily and should be held further away to have the same curling effect.  If it gets too close to the flame it will end up with large holes, so it’s best to keep it further from the flame.

Once you’ve completed melting your layers, you have a few options for assemblying them.  I chose to hand stitch mine and really it was simple.  I stacked my layers and then used a needle and matching thread to stitch the layers through the middle, including the pretty glass bead I chose for the center. With my layers solidly stitched, I sewed them onto a fabric headband.

If you prefer, you could use tacky glue or a hot glue gun to attach the layers together, and then use the hot glue to also attach it to a headband.  Once you’ve hot glued it down on the headband, you can glue a smaller piece of matching felt on the backside to in case it and cover any glue.

Once I started making flowers I was hooked. It is a lot of fun! I love the vintage look of these sweet purple flowers. Aren’t they perfect?  My smaller flower had one or two more layers and because it was smaller seemed to have more curl.

Different fabrics behave differently when they are melted, so it’s fun to play and see what kind of effects you can create. I used a beautiful red taffeta and it didn’t curl much at all, but looks very elegant.  I’m working on another post to show how I’ll be using them for Christmas.

Making your own fabric flowers is so easy and I think they’re a great Christmas project.  You can easily make some to match a child’s dress or make a purse a bit fancier.  They’d be beautiful on packages, too, or can be used as a gift for a child that wants some pretty new headbands! Walmart or Target are great resources for the headband bases.

Have fun, and I’d love to hear your fabric flower adventures! What colors would you make and for what occasions?

For a bit of fun, I’m linking up at a few fun sites: Saving 4 Six, The Grant Life, The Shabby Nest, Diana Rambles, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Lines Across, The Girl Creative, Project Parade, A Pinch of Joy, Boogieboard Cottage, Flour Me With Love, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou, Sugar Bee Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, Cozy Little House, Nap Time Creations, Ginger Snap Crafts, Creations by Kara, Crystal and Co,