How to Make Fabric Flowers

Project Level: Easy

Five brightly coloured flowers made with starry fabric in a glass vase

About Fabric Love

Established in 2015, we are a small, independent fabric shop in Colchester, Essex, UK dedicated to providing our customers with great quality, affordable fabrics along with fabulous customer service and super fast delivery!

With a combined wealth of over 50 years sewing experience between us, we have a real passion for what we do and enjoy sharing our love of sewing and crafting with our lovely customers!

I love having flowers in the house, they can brighten a room and lift your mood.

These beautiful fabric flowers are easy to make, provide colour all year round, they won't wilt and die but they may need the occasional hoovering!

I know it looks tricky but you just need to take your time and don't rush the sewing.

You Will Need

  • Sewing machine
  • Hot glue gun
  • Iron
  • Chalk or a pencil
  • Needle and thread
  • Sharp scissors
  • Fabric - for the small template a fat quarter bundle will be ideal. I chose to make the larger flowers which require a 25cm strip of fabric up to 150cm wide (the wider the fabric, the more petals you can fit on and the fuller the flower)
Two different sized cardboard petal templates for making fabric flowers

Recommended Fabrics & Notions

2mm White Pin Spot on Cerise - 100% Cotton
2mm White Pin Spot on Cerise - 100% Cotton

2mm White Pin Spot on Cerise - 100% Cotton

£2.40
2mm White Pin Spot on Bright Green - 100% Cotton
2mm White Pin Spot on Bright Green - 100% Cotton

2mm White Pin Spot on Bright Green - 100% Cotton

£2.40
2mm White Pin Spot on Cherry - 100% Cotton
2mm White Pin Spot on Cherry - 100% Cotton

2mm White Pin Spot on Cherry - 100% Cotton

£2.40
2mm White Pin Spot on Turquoise- 100% Cotton
2mm White Pin Spot on Turquoise- 100% Cotton

2mm White Pin Spot on Turquoise- 100% Cotton

£2.40

Instructions

Create your petal template following the guide in 'You Will Need'. The image shows the dimensions of two sizes, large and small.

Step 1.

Cut a rectangle of fabric 16x55cms and fold it in half wrong side to wrong side (so the pattern is facing upwards)

 With the folded edge nearest to you and the open edge away from you pin the fabric to stop it from moving.

 Place the template on the left side of the fabric and using tailors chalk, a stick of chalk or a pencil, draw around your template so they are side by side.

Step 2.

Carefully sew along the arched markings. Take your time, don't rush it. If your stitching is a little wonky, its ok. It's rustic!

 Using sharp scissors trim close to the stitched seam.

 Press with an iron, this gives your work a professional finish.

Step 3.

Starting at the first arch sew a running stitch right along the bottom edge keeping your stitches small.

Gently pull the thread and gather the fabric. Now its starting to look more like a flower.

Step 4.

You will need some sticks to glue your fabric flowers onto. We collected some when we went for a walk in the woods.

Natural sticks will add to your shabby-chic project.

Break out your glue gun!

Obviously take care with hot glue, it's often said that crafters who use hot glue guns make the best criminals...having removed your fingerprints with hot glue, you're almost impossible to trace...

Step 5.

Take your flower and place it flat.

Using a glue gun, put a dab of glue on the base of the first petal and attach your stick. With small amounts of glue, gently roll your flower around the petal base.

When you come to the end of the fabric, wrap it around the base of the flower and secure with hot glue... mind those fingers!

Starting at the outside of the flower, start to bend the petals out until you reach the middle.

Doesn't that look good?

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