I have been making these for ages cos they are just sooooo simple and really cute. I use them on scrapbook pages or sometimes attach a safety pin to the back and they work quite well as a funky extra on a bag!
Get your longer strip of material and fold it in half wrong sides together. As you can see it doesn't need to be neat! The reason I fold it in half is because that folded edge becomes the outer edge of the flower so it will be lovely and neat and won't fray.
Start sewing along the raw edge (the one that isn't folded) use a simple running stitch, try and make the stiches long and even. A good rule of thumb is the smaller the stiches, the tighter the pleats. 
After each stitch give it a gentle pull and it should gather up pretty easily and form naturally into a circle shape
When you have sewn to the end of the strip, you should have a gathered circle rossette. you should now have two open ends. Put one end into the other and sew up the seams
You should have something that looks like this. 
You now need to do the same with the smaller strip of material. I used netting so had to be careful not to rip it by pulling each stitch too tight.You should end up with something like the above...
You will need:
42cm length of Pretty material about 4 inches wide
28cm of net or co-ordinating material about 4 inches wide
Big button for the middle
cotton and a needle
Strong glue
Get your longer strip of material and fold it in half wrong sides together. As you can see it doesn't need to be neat! The reason I fold it in half is because that folded edge becomes the outer edge of the flower so it will be lovely and neat and won't fray. Start sewing along the raw edge (the one that isn't folded) use a simple running stitch, try and make the stiches long and even. A good rule of thumb is the smaller the stiches, the tighter the pleats. After each stitch give it a gentle pull and it should gather up pretty easily and form naturally into a circle shapeWhen you have sewn to the end of the strip, you should have a gathered circle rossette. you should now have two open ends. Put one end into the other and sew up the seamsYou should have something that looks like this. You now need to do the same with the smaller strip of material. I used netting so had to be careful not to rip it by pulling each stitch too tight.You should end up with something like the above...
Now attach the smaller rossette to the larger one. I just used a simple running stich again 
Voila! It should now look like this! I attached a big button in the middle with glue but you could just as well leve it plain. On the cat page on the previous post I just left them without the netting middle or a button. If you want a smaller rossette just cut a smaller strip of fabric! If you want to attach it to a bag just add a safety pin to the back. Loves xxxxxxxx
4 comments:
oh abi you were busy in that 2 hours over at shabby!!! :) I love this tutorial as it such a simple idea but so effective. i love making these flowers too. i have been teaching myself how to crochet so i can make crocheted ones as well cos they're so expensive.
i'm glad u finished ur essay on tess...........i love that book. thomas hardy was one of the first big classics i read at A'level. we did the mayor of casterbridge and i have to admit hardy is one of my fave authors. i love far from the madding crowd, the woodlanders and 2 on a tower. i am glad i have found the 451 reading challenge cos i have something new to focus on along with my crafting.
anyway keep up the g8 crafting work etc. how much longer have u got off school? you r really lucky to havesuch a lovely long break although i know being away from home, family and friends is not such a g8 things.
Jo xxx
Ha! Lovely flowers! Clever Abi. Thank you for telling us how to do this - I can see what I did wrong now and why it wouldn't gather up and look right. You're a star!
I love Thomas Hardy. We also read the Mayor of Casterbridge at school. I saw an excellent version of Tess at the local college a few years back, done by a travelling theater group - in a big tent! I have a lovely set of Hardy, from the Folio Society. which my mum bought for me a zillion years ago. It includes the seven novels, plus "Wessex Tales" which are short stories. Really good - I must re-read them - it's been a while...
I hope today's general yukky feeling turns out to be just a bad day and you are better tomorrow.
Thank you for the great tutorial and the fab clear photos to go with it.
They look great Abi, and something I think I could manage! I'm NOT a sewer ;-)
Hope you feel better soon - I hate the feeling that 'something' is coming.
Fabulous! You'll be setting up an Etsy shop next! Another Hardy fan..I was at school when the big film of Tess came out and I've loved it ever since. Have you tried any of his poetry? It's completely out of fashion but I do like it
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