I have had this idea in my head for an origami-esque flower made out of fabric. A while back I made some Japanese Kanzashi fabric flowers that were intricate and beautiful. I was wanting to make something with a similar feeling, only much, much simpler. I'm sure I have seen something similar to this before, but I couldn't find a source so I thought it might be cool to try and bring my idea to life on this pillow. It was really quite easy and I think the end result is pretty.
Folded Fabric Flower
Supplies:
- sheet of paper or cardstock to make circle template
- about ¼ yard of fabric
- scraps of felt -- a 3-4 inch circle and a 1-2 inch circle
- needle and thread
- permanent fabric glue
Step 1: Stack two circles, right sides together, and sew around the edge {about 1/4" from the edge}. Leave a 1" opening so you can turn it right side out. Repeat for all ten petals.
Step 2: Cut out notches all around the stitched edge, being careful not to snip through the stitching. This will give your circle a better shape when turned right side out. Repeat for all ten petals.
Step 3: Turn right side out. Repeat for all ten petals.
Step 4: Press each circle to get nice, crisp edges. With the open edge at the bottom, fold the outside edges of the petal in to the center as shown above. Repeat for ALL. TEN. PETALS. {Tired of this yet?!}
Step 5: Cut a 3-4 inch circle out of felt. It doesn't have to be perfect. This will be the backing that you sew all the petals onto to form a flower. Pin the flower petal to the felt circle, overlapping in the center as necessary so that the folded edges line up and just barely touch at the top.
Step 6: Stitch the petals in place by sewing a small circle in the center of the flower.
Step 7: Using a needle and thread, tack the top corners of each petal to the one next to it. Make sure to do this on the back of the flower so it won't show when you look at the flower from the front.
Step 8: Decide where you want your flower to be on the pillow cover then lift the petals and pin the felt backing circle in place.
Step 9: Using a needle and thread, sew around the edge of the felt backing to attach the flower to the pillow cover. Cut a circle out of coordinating felt to form the center of the flower. {The yellow circle in the picture below.} Make sure it's big enough so that none of the stitching shows on the front of the flower. Use permanent fabric glue to attach it to the center of the flower.
Voila! Brand new pillow! You'd never know that there's a little shamrock hiding on the back side of it. You can make the flower bigger or smaller bu increasing or decreasing the size of the circles you cut out of the fabric. I really like the folded, origami feeling of it -- simple and clean. For a cool variation, you could use different fabrics for the front and back side of each petal to add more dimension and visual interest.
This is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a fun one to make.
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