How to Sew a Fabric Flower
Fabric flowers made interesting embellishments. They add styles to plain totes, hats or outfits. You can either sew them permanently to the base or create accessories out of them. This tutorial is a step-by-step guide to sewing fabric flowers by hand.
• Needles, thread, pins
• remnants fabric
• Stationary to draw and cut out the paper template
• Cotton Wool
Step 1: Prepare the Paper Template
You will need 2 circular templates; a large one for the petals and a small one for the heart. You can use any object with a circular base to trace the basic paper template for the petal. The size of the circle will determine your flower's size. For the petal, fold it in half and cut it.
Trace another smaller circular template for the heart of the flower. This should be approximately 2/3 the size of the circle for the petal template. DO NOT cut this template in half.
Step 2: Sew the Petals
Use the semi circular template for the petal and cut 6 fabric pieces from it. Fold each piece into a quadrant with the wrong side out. Using straight stitches sew the straight side of the quadrant about 5mm from the edge (a). Turn the piece right side out. Do the same for all six of them.
Next sew on the curved side of each petal piece one at a time (b). Space the stitches evenly as you will need to pull at the thread at one end to create the folds as show in the picture. For each petal piece, secure the folds with ties before doing the same for the next petal. At the end of the sixth petal, attach it to the first petal to form the base of the flower.
Optional: Make another petals base using contrasting fabric. These can be the same size as the first set or different. Sew the smaller set on top of another such as the ones shown in the main pictures.
Step 3: Creating the Heart for the Fabric Flower
Cut out a piece for the flower heart from another fabric with the smaller circular template. Fabrics with different texture, contrasting colors and design from the one used for the petals would add interests. In fact you can use different fabrics for the petals as well.
For the heart piece, run a round of stitches about 5 mm on the edges around it. The stitches should be spaced evenly so that when you pulled at the thread, the gathers will form a tiny pocket. Stuff the pocket with cotton wool until it is round and firm. Position the heart at the center of the petals with the opening hidden and use invisible stitches to sew them together.
If you intend to sew the fabric flower permanently to a base such as a hat or a purse, skip Step 4.
Step 4: Optional For A Fabric Flower Brooch.
To create a detachable accessory from the fabric flower, sew a cover over the opening on the underside of the fabric flower. Sew a brooch pin or a safety pin at the center of the patch to create your brooch.