Crafting/ DIY/ Great Gifts/ Hallmark Home and Family/ Upcycling

Fabulous Fabric Flowers for a DIY Wedding — or any occasion!

I adore the look of fabric flowers. They have a lovely vintage, sentimental feel, perfect for weddings and other special occasions. And when making them, there are lots of opportunities to add trinkets, personality & meaning to create everlasting mementoes.

These flowers can be applied to shoes, used as brooches/corsages/boutonnieres, or even as a gorgeous bridal bouquet. They’re easy to make, and last long after fresh blooms have faded.

Supplies:

Polyester/nylon fabric – satin, chiffon, organza, lace
Needle and thread
Compass or household items for making circles (like lids, jam jar rings)
Beads, cast-off earrings, stick-on stones, etc.
Fabric marking pens/chalk
Straight pins
Scissors
Candle
Glue
Ribbon
Bouquet form (optional)
Shoes (optional)
Shoe clips – if applying to shoes

Flower Centers

Jeweled buttons make eye-catching centers for these flowers, but consider lost-earring-half-pairs, broken jewelry pieces, or other un-useable items from the bottom of your jewelry box or junk drawer. This can also be a beautiful use for Grandma’s old brooch or that earring your man gave you that you never wear. These elements are especially meaningful when making flowers that will become a bridal bouquet.

Choosing Fabric

I recommend at least 5 different types of synthetic fabric. The use of synthetic material is essential, as the process of making the flowers involves melting the edges. If you use natural fabrics (silk, cotton, rayon) the edges will burn rather than melt/fuse… not a good look. Choose lightweight satin, chiffon, lace, organza. I used a lovely pleated fabric as one element.

Also consider color and texture. If all the fabrics are one color or shade, the blooms may just appear as a ball of one single color. Contrast in hues and styles help highlight the main color and give depth to the overall appearance.

If using lace or tulle (netting) the edges do not need to be melted. These fabrics add a nice texture layer to the flowers.

For one bouquet, I began with ½ yard pieces of 7 different fabrics.

Cutting Flower Circles

Determine the exterior diameter desired for your flowers. My roses were 3-1/2″ across. Stack fabrics one atop the other, pin in place, and use the water-soluble pen to mark circles, using compass or household items as a guide. Cut. Then create circle stacks 1/2″ smaller until you have 4 or 5 different sizes.

Prepare Flower Elements

In preparation for the next step, you may want to have a glass of cold water or ice cubes handy, in case you inadvertently touch a molten edge before it has cooled. If you do make contact with a hot melted bit of fabric, grab an ice cube to help with the burn. Protect your paws!

Carefully hold the edges of the fabric circles over the candle flame until the edges begin to melt and curl. Continue turning the circle until the entire edge is finished fusing.

Assemble Flowers

When you have completed finishing the edges of all your circles, assemble. Stack the circles, gradually working toward smaller circles until satisfied with the result, then stitch together.

To secure and create dimension, turn the flower over, and pinch in half.

Take a few stitches in the center of the stack to hold that pinch in place, and knot the thread.

Turn flower right side up. Add a center to the bloom. This is where the crystals, buttons, pearl paint, glitter, or old earrings come in handy. Go crazy with the accoutrements!

For another choice for flower centers, embellish small felt circles with glitter glue or pearl paint.

Assemble Bouquet

When you have plenty of flowers, begin assembly on the bouquet form. I also added ribbon roses to my arrangement. My tutorial for ribbon roses is here.

To attach the flowers to the bouquet form, push a long straight pin through the center of the flower. Dip the pin in glue, then push into the Styrofoam of the bouquet form. Repeat until the form is completely covered. Once the larger flowers are in place, use tufts of fabric, ribbon roses, or other elements to fill in any gaps between flowers.

Create Shoe Clips

Shoe clip hardware allows you to wear your flowers on different shoes, or remove them when you want to go back to unadorned shoes. Attach flower to purchased shoe clip hardware. Since shoes take quite a beating, I recommend sewing the flowers to shoe clips, rather than using glue, for maximum security.