Tie Dye Diva's FREE Layered Fabric Flower Tutorial

I love fabric flowers as a finishing touch  handmade items - hats, sashes, clutches, and more. They add a splash of contrast and a point of interest that really makes a garment look like a million bucks. I'd like to share with you how to make the fabric flower featured on one of the Tie Dye Diva Perfect Party Dress pattern samples (complete instructions are also in the pattern).

Tie Dye Diva's Layered fabric flower tutorial 

Materials:

·      Fabric strip 2” x 8” for inner layer

·      Fabric strip 3” x 10” for outer layer

·      Button at least ½” diameter for center

·      Hand needle and thread

·      Pin back

This tutorial makes a flower about 3.5" in diameter. For a larger flower, you can increase the width of the strips - the diameter of the flower will be very roughly the width of your larger strip. For a smaller, simple flower, use only the smaller strip and make the flower one layer.

Cut the strips in the materials list. Press the longer strip in half lengthwise to make a crease and unfold. 

Now fold the strip widthwise with right sides together and sew along the short edges using a ¼” seam allowance. Trim the seam allowance to 1/8”.

Turn your seam to the inside and refold along the center line you pressed, so that you have a long narrow loop.  Hand-sew a running stitch along the raw edges of the loop, through both layers – in and out, without backstitching. While you can machine-sew this step, I find hand sewing allows you to pull the center of the flower tighter for a prettier and more finished look.  Sew all the way around.

Pull the thread to gather the fabric tightly and tie them off to secure the gathers.

Repeat with the shorter strip, using a long (about 24”) length of thread. After tying the final knot off, do not cut the thread. Layer the button, the smaller layer, and the larger layer. Use the thread tail to sew the button to the center, then to secure the flower layers together, and then to secure the pin back to the flower (you could also hot-glue the pin back).

 

Here is the important part of sewing on the pin back. Don’t center the pin back on the flower – it will result in a floppy, face-down flower. Instead, decide which is the top of your flower and affix the pin closer to the top of the flower.

Now pin into place with the pin at the top of the flower, and remove for easy washing!

Shown on Tie Dye Diva Perfect Party Dress Pattern

Perfect Party Dress pattern. Photo by Kinder Kouture.

I hope you've enjoyed this free tutorial - please link to it, Facebook it, Tweet it! There are easy-share buttons up at the top (um, except for Pinterest, which is below. I'm not sure why.) Then come find some patterns in desperate need of fabric flowers to go with your new-found knowledge - you'll find for clothing, accessories, home, toys and more at www.tiedyedivapatterns.com. Enjoy!