Fabric Wire Flowers

A few months ago, when I wanted to attempt making some wire flowers, I ordered some thin wire online. I received my order in April, but finally found the time and energy to work on them this weekend. I'll share a few pictures (the best part of blogs, IMHO) then scroll to the bottom for the "how to" instructions.

By the way, if you love these vintage books, you can purchase your own set of three at this adorable shop for only $15! 



First attempt. A little sloppy, but still so cute!



Fun zebra print. I was getting better by this point.



Here's a side view of this little pretty.

 

Oh. My. Gosh. I made some "mini me's" using the same
technique and absolutely fell in love. I'm thinking of
using them for hair clips, headbands or just making a bunch
of them into a bouquet.

 

Yep. I definitely love these. I want to put them on my nightstand so they're
the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. Except my darling husband,
of course.



Here are all the fabric wire flowers I made. I can't wait to
makre more!



 

 Ok, now for the directions!

 

You'll need:

• fabric scraps (the super nice thing about these is they make excellent use of your scrap fabric)
• white cloth covered floral stem wires, 26 Gauge (I bought mine from this site in bulk - they are pretty inexpensive)
• floral pins
• floral tape
• tacky glue or elmers glue

After making my first flower, I decided the wire was much too long. You can use the entire 18" and have a longer stem, or you can do what I did and cut the wire in half first (which also gives you twice the flowers!).

1. Wrap the wire around something circular that will form the shape of your petal. I used a jumbo size permanent marker for the large flowers I did and a regular marker for the smaller flowers. Twist the short end around the stem enough to secure the loop (about 3 or 4 twists should do it). 
2. Grab a pencil and pull the end of the petal enough to give it an oblong shape. 
3. Squeeze a quarter-size amount of glue onto a scrap of paper and apply a thin coat of the glue on one side of the petal with a paintbrush. Bend the stem so it stands at a 90 degree angle from the petal and place firmly onto your scrap fabric, right side up. I used the other end of the paintbrush to roll over the wire to ensure a firm, flat bond on the fabric. Repeat steps 1-3 a total of 5 times. 
4. Once the glue is dry, cut closely around the wire. Bend the stem 180 degrees and shape the petal using a marker or something else round that gives you the amount of bend you want on your petals. You can use your fingers for this if you want, but it will be more uniform and "nice looking" if you use something as a template. 
5. When you have all 5 petals, take the first two and start wrapping the floral tape around them. Add another petal after each pass until you have all 5 petals together, then move down the stem with the tape until you reach the bottom. Tear or cut the tape and secure firmly. 
6. Insert the floral pin into the center of the flower and voila! Variation: You can add the floral pin when you start wrapping the first two petals instead of inserting at the end. This method works well if you are having trouble getting the pin to sit in the center without poking out of the stem.

 

 



Wire Flowers - An Experiment

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my discovery of the coolness of fabric yo-yo’s. After looking around for some new ideas, I found out the company who makes the plastic template I use also makes a myriad of other products for cool looking fabric things such as butterflies, flowers and hearts. They even have a four-leafed clover (apropos, considering that is the name of the company who manufactures the products: Clover).

Anyway, this got me thinking. I had so much fun making my Kusudama Flowers…how can I incorporate the paper flowers with the fabric flowers? I decided to try and make some fabric flower petals and insert some floral wire into the ends giving them a molded look.

I wanted to start by cutting two tear drop shaped pieces of fabric for the petal. Then, I would sew them right sides together with a 1/8” seam allowance leaving the bottom unsewn for turning. After that, I’d take some floral wire and fit it around the inside edges of the petal so it would keep its shape and structure. Once I had 5 of these petals, I would attach them by winding the excess wire in the center, like a “stem”. To complete the look, I’d wrap the wire in floral tape and glue a button or pearl in the center of the flower.

I haven’t actually tried this yet, but I think it will work.

By the way, we’ve had more snow in the last week than we received in the entire month of February. How ridiculous is that? We started spring cleaning last weekend during the middle of one of the snowstorms. It just didn’t feel right.

Yo Yo's

Don't buy me. I will suck the life out of you.

While waiting for my animals to receive their annual shots, I decided to visit the craft store. My daughter has taken an interest in crafting - sewing in particular - as of late, so I decided to help that seed grow. I found a simple sewing machine which I thought would be great for a beginner. Not too many bells and whistles, just the basics.

This thing made me want to whip out the old needle and thread, hand sew what we were working on, then climb to the top of a 30 story building, throw this "sewing machine" over the edge and watch it plummet to its death. We spent more time re-threading this thing than we actually did sewing. You can't even use normal thread with it. You have to buy special small spools with poor-quality thread. It is the worst possible investment ever! Maybe I just got a lemon, but if you are considering purchasing the purple Pixie machine (made by Singer), save yourself the $40 and pay someone to make your project instead.

Adorable yo yo's!

Anyway, now that I've done my consumer report, I wanted to tell you about a fabulous new discovery I made over the weekend. I learned about Yo Yo's!

I know, they've been around forever and I can't believe I'm just now hearing about them, but these things are capital-A dorable. My daughter and I made some simple children-sized aprons and attached some of these little delights. They make a world of difference to the overall appearance and detail. They're also easy to make while sitting around. I bought a couple of plastic yo yo makers at the craft store. I think this is probably the easiest way to make them, but I also found some instructions on how to make them without the plastic forms (see below).

Contributed by ehow.com

INSTRUCTIONS

Things You'll Need:

Circle Template

Pencil

Scissors

Small scraps of fabric

Needle

Strong sewing or quilting thread

Gather your supplies. If you are working on a specific project you might want to coordinate your fabrics. I like to sew a bunch of these up while watching NCIS or Burn Notice so I just grab whatever fabric scraps I have, whip up the yo-yos and pop them in a storage container for a "rainy day".

Trace around your circle template on the "wrong" side of your fabric. Remember that this circle will be come quite a bit smaller when you make it into a yo-yo. If you want a specific size keep these measurements in mind:

1 1/2" circle makes a 3/4" finished yo-yo

2" circle makes a 1" finished yo-yo

3" circle makes a 1 1/2" finished yo-yo

Following the line you've drawn with your template, cute out the fabric circles.

Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of the thread. With the "wrong" side of the fabric facing up, turn over 1/4" of fabric toward the center. Push your needle up the the wrong side of this little bit of turned fabric so the knot is in the fold.

Work a running stitch around the circle turning the fabric over 1/4" as you go. Try to make your stitches about 1/4" apart. Any smaller and the hole of the yo-yo will be too big.

Sew all the way around the circle until you come back to where you started. The yo-yo will starts to curl up a bit.

Hold the fabric circle at the knotted end of your thread and pull the needle firmly to gather up the stitches. Your flat circle will bunch up and become a 3D yo-yo. Take a couple little stitches where the thread comes out to secure your yo-yo in place.

Once you make a fabric yo-yo and see how simple it is to whip up a bunch you'll look at your scrap fabrics in a whole new way. Glue them to a hair clip or barrette, cover a pillow, layer different colors and sizes and make into a pin; the possibilities are endless!