Frilly Fabric Flower Tutorial

Love making these frilly little fabric flowers, they look lovely sewn on just about anything (take a peek below for more ideas).  In the winter I made twisted selvage edge rosettes, but these flowers are really cinchy & easy to vary their size.

They seem to have cropped up everywhere - bags, shirts, & such.... the twist I've added is making them double-sided with a somewhat finished edge.

Here's  quick tutorial to make your own:

Supplies: fabric scraps, jar or other object to make circles, needle & thread, pen & scissors

Step 1:  Layer fabric (it will be easier & faster to cut). Trace mason jar & cut out circles. Two circles are needed for each flower.

Step 2:  Lay two circles wrong sides together (right sides out). Pin if desired (I don't find it necessary to pin these, but I'm a bit of a risk take ;)  Stitch along edge using super small zigzag stitch. This kind of 'finishes' the edge. Trim any threads or fabric.

Step 3: Making the flower shape. There are two ways to do this. The first, shown above, is gripping & then pinching the fabric together with four fingers so four separate "petals" are formed. *Remember the grade school game with the folded paper that would tell your fortune? just like that ;)  

OR: you can try it like this. If your fingers aren't quite as nimble for the technique shown above, this is slightly easier. Start by folding your circle in half. Hold the middle on the sewn edge (not quite shown) and with opposite hand fold in/ bring in the sides, then pinch the bottom. (hard to show & take a photo)

Step 4: Sew up the bottom. Two different ways shown. First, on the left photo, sew each little 'petal' separately. Bring your needle around each little fold a few times & then move to the next. This creates a 'puckered' flower. OR with flower flattened a bit (after folding) sew through all layers (just be sure to catch all the folds). This creates kind of a fan.  Really, they don't look that much different when finished...so whatever works for you.

Step 5: If desired, sew a pin back on at this point.

OR sew directly onto anything else.....

on pillow

on shirt

Variations: Use just one fabric in making flower. Vary the sizes of the circles. Bunch them closer or looser apart. Sew beads inside at the center - little pearls would look lovely!  Endless possibilities really :)

Enjoy!