This week's tutorial is super fast and totally fun. And, the best part is, it helps turn those tiny, useless scraps of fabric into something cute....
All you need is a strip of fabric cut about 5/16" wide, and 6" long. Knit fabric works great.
(Oh, and in case you are still scratching your head about that 5/16", it's halfway in between 1/4" and 3/8" -- it sounds way more complicated than it is :)
Knot your thread, and start working a running stitch along the bottom edge of the strip. Your stitches don't have to be terribly even, just keep them as near the bottom edge as you can.
When you get to the end, pull up the gathers so that the strip is about half its original length (3"). Tie a knot to secure your thread.
Now it's time to start actually forming the flower!
Fold over the corner of one end, to make a little triangle shape. This will be the center of the flower. Stitch the corner down, along the line of gathering stitches.
Then just start rolling the strip up on itself, stopping and stitching through the bottom periodically to hold everything in place. Here's a top view...
....and a side view.
Keep rolling and stitching till you get to the end. Then, tie off your thread, and there you are -- one completed flower!
Don't worry if your first couple flowers look a little weird. That's ok -- sometimes it takes a while to figure out how to place the gathers for the most attractive flower.
If you want a fuller flower, pull the gathers up tighter; for a skinnier flower, use less gathers. The 2:1 ratio (6" gathered down to 3") gives a nice medium-sized result.
I love making these out of knit fabric strips, but you could also try a woven fabric, cut on the bias, for a different look. Here is a picture of a bias strip. :)
These three flowers were all made with different widths of strips! See what a difference even 1/16" makes?
(Left to right: 1/4", 5/16", and a shy 1/2".)
These flowers look great on headbands, purses, shoes, belts, tees, and -- of course -- tanks!
Have fun using them on your own creations!
Thanks everybody, and have fun with this!
For Pixie Faire,
Melinda
***GIVEAWAY UPDATE: We have a winner! By random number, our winner is Emma! She said, "my favorite is roses and carnations so cliche lol"
184 Comments
I love them all….so, I’m just picking one off the top of my head…Asiatic Lily :)
My favorite flower is the morning glory, because they’re so beautiful and delicate and they only open in the morning, which means they have lovely little dewdrops on them. Also, their beauty only lasts a short time, so it makes the beauty more special.
I have three that I like: roses, peonies and lilacs. They all smell so good.
Pick just one? Unfair! Impossible!! It would be like picking your favorite child, grandchild or Pixie Faire pattern (grin).
I love the floral change, variety, and assortments each season brings:
—Early Spring’s cheery tulips, daffodils, and bearded irises emerging thru snow’s crust marking the rebirth of life;
—Fragrant lilacs, petunias, and roses, as well as giant peonies in April and May
—Colorful arrays and aroma of summer blossoms, like the heady sweet pea and gardenia or the eye feast of colors and height combinations bordering sidewalks and pathways, or bougainvillea-cloaked arbors, inviting one to enter and set a spell. Optical illusions of coolness set against a sea of emerald green (lawn) during days of sweltering heat.
—With Fall arrives autumnal colored delights, like the Helenium, dressed in their drooping petal tutus, poised and alert, prepared to dance in just the hint of a Fall breeze.
—Lastly, the red poinsettia of winter, or hothouse Fire ‘n’ Ice rosebuds, bringing hot pops of color to a cold and drab, gray winter world. I love them all, singularly or combined in lovely eye candy arrangements.
Now, if you asked for my favorite floral aroma, that would have been easy: ORANGE BLOSSOMS! I grew up where there were lots of citrus orchards. Each spring, for a week (or two, if you were lucky), the whole Valley of the Sun in Arizona would burst forth with this magnificent, exotic, cleansing, yet not too heady, fragrance. After a warm day, there was no better aroma to fall asleep to: windows open, a slight wisp of a cool breeze blowing, curtains softly billowing as the orange blossom delicateness wafted into your home. It was aroma-therapy sleep bathed in yummy aromatic deliciousness.
But, for a favorite flower, I love them all. Even the delicate weed flowers my sweet little son picked for me as an expression of his love. (Attached clumps of dirt to the roots were always a bonus. Priceless!)
To me, the many varieties of flowers, with their accompanying crimping, textures, edgings, coloring and aromas, or even simple simplicity, represent all of God’s dear children. Unique, precious, and beautiful; complete and utter perfection in their similarities and differences, each in their own way. How can one not love each and every one?
Orchids are my favorite flowers for their long-lasting blooms. My florist (our DD) just brought a beautiful one with 21 stunning white blooms.