10 Petal Fabric Flowers

This is probably one of the first pins I ever tried on Pinterest. I came across this while looking for patterns for baby shoes and thought I would give it a try. My own efforts came out cute but my daughter only wore them once or twice. Cute but kind of weird.

The wonderful thing that happened though, was that I learned how to make the flowers themselves. I have made about 100 of these and have tweaked the method here and there until I got it just right. To make a ten petal fabric flower you will need:

Fabric - any kind will do, I have yet to find a texture that doesn't work as long as it doesn't fray like crazy when cut

Needle and thread, it does not matter what color

A 2 cm square of a thick fabric like canvas, denim or felt

Scissors

A straight pin

A pattern

First, make your pattern. Fold a scrap piece of paper in half and then in half again.

Then, cut out the shape of your petal from one folded edge to the other, making sure to keep it even. You may want to open it several times to check and see if it looks like what you want and then make adjustments as needed.

Once you get it how you want it open it up and it should look something like this:

You will be able to use this pattern over and over again! Once you have your pattern finished get your fabric and a straight pin. I like to cut multiple layers at once. Because I was using a thin bandanna, I cut all 10 layers at the same time. If you are going to cut multiple layers at once make sure that you give yourself enough excess on the sides. Pin the pattern to the fabric and start cutting!

This next picture is just to show you about how much fabric it takes to make a flower that is about 2 - 2 1/2 inches. You could get about 4 flowers from a piece of fabric the size of a bandanna. You could get many more if your pattern is smaller. Scraps left over from other projects are perfect and mostly what I use to make these.

Next, get your needle and thread and your small piece of coarse fabric. It does not have to be big, just whatever you have on hand. You do not want it to be big enough to show.

To start assembling your flower, take your first petal and fold it in half so that it is a off center a little. Doing this with each petal will make your flower fuller. Also, if your fabric has one side that is darker than the other make sure that the darker side is on the outside for the next 8 petals.

(Sorry about the camera strap!)

Fold your petal in half again so that you have a triangle.

Now, grab your needle and thread. Starting from the underneath, line your petal up at a 90 degree angle on your fabric square and stitch it down. I have found that one stitch is fine.

Continue the same process going around the square with the next three petals until you have one on each corner. The folded edges of each petal should touch.

Now, keep going with another layer of petals on top of the first layer. For this layer, stitch your first petal down so that it is overlapping halfway between two petals on the bottom layer. As you add the petals to this layer continue to make sure the sides of each petal touch. I also like to make sure that the thread is pulled tight so that the fabric gathers more and the flower is fuller.

Once you complete this layer, if you like you can add a button or bead to the center and be finished. Your flower will be a little more 2-D, however. If you want it to look 3-D, grab your last two petals. This last step is a little hard to explain. Basically, you are going to want to pinch them in the middle and then twist them a little. You will also want the darker side of the fabric to be on the inside of the last two petals.

Push your needle up through the center of your flower and then thread it through the twisted part of your last two petals and then back through the middle of your flower again. You can opt to only use one petal in the middle, but I have found that 2 makes it much fluffier and prettier.

Fluff your flower and if you like how it looks, tie off your thread and you're done! If you don't like it, add another stitch or two to the middle until it looks right.

At this point you have several options. You can stitch it to a head band or hair tie. You can also hot glue it to a hair clip or barrette. My mom likes to use a safety pin to attach them to her shirt or purse. If the material  you are using won't fray (like t-shirt material), you can even sew it directly onto a garment. 

To make your flowers more interesting, try combining different prints and textures of fabrics. Use 5 of each and alternate them as you go. You could even combine 3 fabrics using 3 petals each of two kinds and 4 petals of the third. Lace or tulle looks really pretty when mixed in with a solid fabric. Be creative! Feel free to leave me a comment if you have any questions.