Hand Sewn Fabric Flowers How To

Okay so this is how I made my last batch of hand sewn fabric flowers. 

I used a Geometry compass or whatever to measure as large of a circle as I was comfortable with, for the purpose in which I intend to use these fabric flowers, which is as hair barrettes. I decreased the radius on the compass to get a smaller circle, until I had four circles ranging from large to small. I cut these out on felt cloth to use as a gauge when cutting out fabrics for my fabric hair flowers. 

Below is a photo of the fabric circles I cut using my felt circles as a guide...

I'm planning on making an insane amount of fabric flowers, but I digress...

This is a stack of felt circles to be used on the back of the fabric hair flowers, for purposes of stabilization. These are all the same size as my smallest felt circle, in the first photo in this post.

Okay. Step one. Begin with the largest pile of fabric circles. Using one piece of fabric at a time, fold in half, and then fold in half again. Thread through the center of your felt circle...

Tie a double knot in the back, like so. Don't worry about how the felt circle looks in the back because when we're all done, we're going to use a piece of the same fabric we're using for the flower to cover the felt.

Since I have four stacks of four fabric circles, I will begin to add all four of my largest pieces, one at a time, to create the foundation of my flower. Each circle of fabric should be folded in half twice, so that it will look more or less like this:

It's not looking perfect, but it doesn't have to. Especially not at this point. Here's the completed first layer of fabric petals:

Repeat the process with your second largest fabric circles. Here's my second layer...

For your third layer, continue the process of folding your fabric circles in half twice, using the next smallest pile of fabric circles, and focusing on creating one flower petal at a time. 

And finally, with your remaining fabric circles, which should be the smallest ones, repeat the process. You can move the fabric around as you see fit, securing with your needle and thread as you go along. 

When you're done you can add a piece of fabric to the back of the flower to cover the felt. I sewed mine on. 

Then use a glue gun or whatever fabric/jewelry glue you prefer to secure a hair barrette or clip to the back. Let it dry, and you're all done!

Have fun 😊