Tutorial: Sew Easy Peasy Felt Flower Brooches!

Today I'm sharing a super simple felt flower tutorial which is perfect for beginners, crafting as a family, or just for when you want a quick and easy make. 

I've made my flowers into brooches, which always make lovely gifts, but they'd also be great for decorating a spring or summer wreath or for adding to lots of crafty projects. 

 

You could also add a hairclip to the back instead of a brooch clasp, or sew each flower onto a piece of ribbon to make bookmarks - like these I made years ago:

You can make small flowers...

 ... or large flowers...

 ... or a selection of both sizes.

I've sewn my flowers in a pretty spring / early summer palette: orange, yellow, pale pink, lilac, and aqua blue. I've used yellow felt for the flower centres except for the yellow flowers which have orange centres.

I chose to use matching thread throughout - yellow thread to sew yellow felt, pink thread to sew pink felt, etc - so the thread almost disappears against the felt, but you could choose contrasting colours to add detail and make your stitching part of the design. Here's a batch of these flowers I made years ago, all sewn with yellow thread:

For more detail and variety, why not add a sequin, small button, or some seed beads to the flower centres? Or play around with embroidery thread and some simple stitches to add lines or simple patterns to the petals?

It would be really fun to make these flowers in colours to match a favourite outfit - maybe a trio of flowers, each picking out different colours from a dress you love? Or in shades that really pop against a favourite jumper?

For each flower, you will need:

- Felt in two colours

- Matching sewing thread

- A sewing needle, and a pin

- Sewing scissors (embroidery scissors are great for cutting out small shapes!)

- The templates included at the bottom of this post

- A brooch clasp or a safety pin

To make a simple flower brooch:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out one flower centre, and two flower shapes. Hold or pin the paper templates to the felt as you cut out each shape.

If you're making a large flower, cut a large (L) centre circle. If you're making a small flower, cut a small (S) centre circle.

2. Position the centre circle in the middle of one of the flower pieces, and sew it in place with matching sewing thread. For the small flowers I stitched the circles in place with an X of two single stitches. For the larger flowers I used running stitch. 

I've marked this stitching on the photo with black to make things clearer as it's hard to see yellow stitching on yellow felt!

3. Now take the other flower shape and turn it over.

If you're adding a brooch clasp or hairclip, sew it in place with a double thickness of matching thread and lots of stitches to make things nice and secure.

If you're using a safety pin, use matching thread to sew a small rectangle of felt over the fixed bar of the pin, holding it in place. I used running stitch for this, sewing two horizontal lines as close as possible to the pin then three vertical lines, as shown.

 

4. Finally, place the front and back flower pieces together and sew around the edge with running stitch and matching thread. Start your stitching inside the flower so your knot will be hidden between the felt layers, then finish your stitching as neatly as possible at the back.

Then repeat these steps as many times as you like! :)

This tutorial is for personal (non-commercial) use only. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

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Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Click here to open the templates in a new window, then print them at 100%.

Romantic Felt Flower Headbands Tutorial

The latest printable PDF sewing pattern in my shop is all about flowers!

My Romantic Flowers tutorial includes step by step instructions for sewing pretty felt flower headbands...

... and how to turn the design into a brooch.

There are also templates and instructions for sewing a large headband or floral crown featuring three of the flowers for some serious flower power this summer.

These flowers would be lovely to wear year-round or to summer parties - why not make a flower to match your favourite dress?

They'd also be great for making accessories for a wedding: the large headband for the bride, single flower hairbands for the bridesmaids, and flower brooches worn on the groomsman's lapels.

Oh, and the PDF includes a flower embroidery pattern, too! Yay!

 

Remember: when you buy any patterns from my shop you can of course make lots of things for yourself and to give as gifts, but you can also sell the finished items at craft fairs or in your Etsy shop, etc, as long as you credit me as the designer.

Click here to buy my Romantic Flowers PDF from my shop! The file will be available to download immediately after purchase. Shop before June 10th to get this design at the launch price.

P.S. A couple of the samples I stitched for this pattern will be available in my sample sale this weekend! 

Don't want to miss out on things like sample sales and new patterns? Subscribe to my newsletter for shop updates and/or a monthly free project!

Folk Floral Hoop Art Tutorial & Embroidery Pattern

I'm on a roll with adding new stuff to my shop this week, first the trio of felt flower patterns and now some floral wall art inspired by folk art designs:

My new printable PDF pattern includes two versions of this flower design: a step-by-step tutorial for sewing the felt applique version (complete with full-size templates, of course!), and an embroidery pattern for stitching the embroidered version.

I've actually included two versions of the embroidery pattern - the full design I stitched and a simpler one, too, so you can go for a less detailed look or add your own details with your favourite stitches. And, of course, there are reversed versions included in case you need them for your fave transfer method.

The designs both fit inside five inch embroidery hoops and would look lovely hanging on the wall to add some summer loveliness to your space. The embroidery pattern would also look fab stitched onto something like a bag or a quilt square.

When you buy any patterns from my shop you can of course make lots of things for yourself and to give as gifts, but you can also sell the finished items at craft fairs or in your Etsy shop, etc, as long as you credit me as the designer.

You can buy my Folk Floral PDF pattern from my shop - it'll be available to download immediately after your payment goes through! Shop before May 31st to get this design at the bargain launch price. 

 

P.S. I actually shared a version of this tutorial with my newsletter subscribers last year. Subscribe to my newsletter for all the latest updates from me and my shop and to never miss out on my free projects!

Stitch It And See

After much umming and aahing I finally chose the colours I wanted to use for stitching my floral embroidery pattern. Here's how it's looking now:

As you can see, I've stitched the main design and am now filling in the blank spaces.

I'm not totally sure if this is the right choice as I'm worried it might end up looking too busy? And that maybe orange thread I've used for the centre won't stand out clearly enough against the peach I'm using to fill in the flower? And maybe the leaves will end up looking too dark when they're filled in too?

We shall see!

UPDATE: This embroidery pattern is now available as part of my Romantic Flowers sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

An Old/New Project

Remember this flower headband tutorial?

When I was sorting through some paperwork last week I found an old sketch I'd made of the same design, that I'd obviously intended to use as an embroidery pattern but never got round to stitching.

So, better late* than never, I'm making a start today! I've drawn a neat version of the pattern...

... traced it onto some fabric and popped it in an embroidery hoop ready to stitch.

Next up: picking colours and choosing stitches. I do so love the start of a new embroidery project, there is so much delicious possibility in those unstitched lines.

* I don't know exactly when I thought about sewing an embroidered version of this flower, but the original tutorial was created waaaaay back in 2010 so this pattern could have been hanging around waiting to be stitched for quite a while! 

UPDATE: This design is now available as part of my Romantic Flowers sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

How To: Make a Mini Felt Leaf & Daisy

To celebrate the launch of my new book, Super-Cute Felt Animals, I'm sharing a collection of free tutorials that you can mix and match with the projects from the book.

This week's projects coordinate with the animals from the "In the Garden" chapter. Today you can learn to make a little felt leaf and daisy. 

To make the leaf and daisy, you will need...

- the template sheet at the bottom of this post
- a small piece of yellow felt
- white felt, approx 2 x 4 in (5.5 x 10.5 cm)
- green felt, approx. 3 x 3 ¾ in (7 x 9 cm)
- matching sewing threads
- spring green embroidery floss (thread)
- stuffing & a pencil or other small stuffing tool
- needles, pins & embroidery scissors (great for cutting out small felt shapes!)

To make the leaf:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out two green felt leaves.

2. Cut a length of spring green embroidery floss and separate half the strands (so for six stranded floss, use three strands). Use the green floss to sew a line down the centre of the leaf in running stitch, sewing along in one direction and then back in the other filling in the gaps to create a continuous line of stitching. Then sew a series of diagonal lines as pictured, sewing out from the central line and then back again with more running stitches. Take care not to pull your stitches too tightly and pucker the felt.

3. Pin the two leaf shapes together, and trim any excess felt from the back (unstitched) leaf – adding the embroidery may have caused the felt shape to shrink slightly. Whip stitch the edges of the leaf together with matching green sewing thread, removing the pin when it’s no longer needed and finishing your stitching neatly at the back.

I kept my leaf flat, but if you’d like to stuff yours just leave a gap large enough for your finger then stuff the leaf lightly before you finish sewing up the gap.

To make the daisy:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out two daisies from white felt and one circle from yellow felt.

2. Place the two daisy shapes together, and whip stitch around the edges with white sewing thread. Finish your stitching in the centre at the front where it’ll be hidden in the next step.

3. Position the circle in the centre of the daisy, and sew it in place with white whip stitches. Sew most of the way round the circle, leaving a small gap. Stuff the centre of the daisy so it’s slightly padded. Then sew up the gap with more whip stitches and finish your stitching neatly at the back.

Click here to view the template sheet in another window/tab, and print it at 100%.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many felt leaves and daisies as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a few photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Super Cute-Felt Animals is published by CICO Books, RRP £12.99. It includes 35 fun felt projects, each with illustrated step-by-step instructions. It's available to buy at Amazon UK and Amazon USA and many other bookshops.

Please note: the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links.

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Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns: