I first discovered fabric flowers over at Offbeat Bride and fell in love. I love they way they look gathered together in a bouquet, and with Disney floral charging $300++ for a bridal bouquet, this is a MUCH cheaper alternative. Plus I could pick out the colors myself and know exactly what I’m getting. Perfect for a control freak like me.
From http://www.swoonbrides.net
I did my research and reviewed several tutorials online, and I believe I have perfected the construction of the fabric flower. Without further ado, here is my detailed fabric flower tutorial.
1. Gather fabric. I am lucky enough to live less than a mile from a Joann Fabric store, so I walk there probably 2-3 times a week. I am on their mailing list (Michaels, too – Joann will take Michaels coupons, at least mine does), so I have a new 40% or 50% off coupon every week. Every visit I search through the fabric remnants (the end of the bolt, usually less than a yard of fabric, at a reduced price) for fabrics that match our color scheme, and check for sales on regular fabric. If nothing I want is on sale, I’ll use my coupon.
Very important – the fabric has to be synthetic, so polyester, nylon, rayon, organza, tulle. No cotton! Synthetic fabrics melt, which is how you get the cool curling effect for your flowers.
You can mix and match different fabrics; there are endless combinations and looks! To start, I played it safe and got polyester and organza in similar shades.
2. Cut out circles of various sizes. I chose to have four layers but you can have as many as you want. As a guide, I cut out cardboard circles out of cereal boxes.
I used various household items as size guides, such as soup cans and bottles of booze.
I fold the fabric in fourths to save on cutting time.
I alternate sizes between the polyester fabric and organza.
3. Burn, baby, burn! Now it’s time to start melting the edges of your fabric circles to create that cool curling effect. Here is what you’ll need:
4. Take a break while your cat plays with the camera strap. Awwww, adorbs.
5. Carefully hold the fabric circle over the flame until the edges start to curl and burn. You have to get it close to the flame but try not to make contact or you will singe your beautiful flower. Keep turning the circle with your fingers until the entire circle is curled. (If the petal gets too hot, put it down for about 10 seconds and then resume.)
6. Repeat with all your petals.
7. Stack with the largest petal on the bottom.
8. Use thread and a needle to make a quick stitch to keep the petals together and in place.
9. Put something decorative in the center. Since I am making 1000s of these for centerpieces, I decided against sewing buttons or beads or anything too extensive, and instead used gold glitter glue to create some interest in the center and hide the small thread stitch.
AND THAT’S IT!!!!!
Here’s a little sneak peak at a centerpiece I’m developing – a tutorial for another time.
If you try this tutorial, please leave a comment and let me know how it goes! Happy melting!
