When my parents were visiting, my mom and I dropped into a fabric store “just to see if we could find any inspiration.” (The place we went is called Quilting Adventures. Don’t you love that name? Makes me picture good-natured, rosy-cheeked grandma just having a heck of a good time sewing up a storm.)
Well, who enters a place called Quilting Adventures and doesn’t find any inspiration? Not these girls. We happened upon this awesome wool felt in colors that had fall written all over them.
I had seen some DIY felt flowers around the internets for a while now and always wanted to try to make some. They are adorable and seemed perfect to pin to a sweater, a purse, a cowl a headband, a toaster. Okay maybe not a toaster, but you get the idea. They’re cute EVERYWHERE!
I explained how I thought we’d go about making them to my mom (which was really more of a formality—she’s not one to turn down a project, familiar or foreign.) And there in the middle of Quilting Adventures, we decided it was time for our felt-y garden to begin to grow.
Here are the ingredients you need to get your own DIY felt flowers blooming:
1. This Make and Do Girl template for the petals and flower foundation (DIY_Felt_Flower_Template)
2. Felt (Ours came in 12”x18” pieces and there’s more than enough to make a few flowers out of one piece. We used 100% wool felt, but you could use any kind of felt depending on how flexible or stiff you want your petals to be.)
3. Scissors
4. Hot glue gun and glue
5. Paintbrush or something with a similar tip at the end (a pen or screwdriver would work)
6. Thin cardboard (from a cereal or shoe box)
7. Button, clip-on earring or bead for the center of the flower
8. Pin, barrette or comb for the back of the flower
Begin by printing the DIY_Felt_Flower_Template. Print it at 100% if you want to make flowers the same scale I did (about 4.5-5” wide petal-to-petal) or resize it if you want your flower to be bigger or smaller. If you resize it, you may have to adjust how many petals you cut of each size.
Here are the number of petals of each size I needed for the largest yellow flower.
Use the circle template to cut the cardboard for the back of the flower as well as the two circles of felt. Snip the felt backing for it as pictured and glue it to the cardboard and then glue down the little tabs of felt around the edges.
Use a very small amount of hot glue to secure pleats in all the felt petals. We used the end of a paintbrush to hold the pleat while it was cooling. Anything but your finger will work!
Once you have all your petals glued, it’s time to start adhering the largest ones to the circle base. Apply a bit of glue to the circle and press the petal down about ¼” from the circle’s edge. Continue this way, making sure there are no gaps between your petals.
Now it’s time to finish off the back of your pin/hair piece/etc. Either sew or glue your barrette, pin or comb onto the circle of felt you cut previously. Then glue that circle onto the back of your flower.
Turn that puppy back around. Now it’s time to accessorize! We tried several centers for our flowers until we found just the perfect accents.
In the purple flower, my mom used a beaded button she picked up at a knitting store. I think it actually looks a lot like the center of a real flower, minus all the allergy-inducing pollen. For the yellow one, I used a clip-on earring I bought at a street festival this summer. I just peeled off the clip-on part and was left with this beautiful beaded fanciness. The center of the orange flower is pearl button. It’s interesting how the style of the center really transforms the look of the flower.
My mom used her purple felt flower as a cute little accent on her Anthro-Inspired Scarflet.
I think these would also make awesome adornments to headbands or even as the foundation of a fascinator like this.
There are so many ways to wear these little felt flowers! They’d make perfect DIY Christmas presents. Or bridesmaids gifts. Or What-The-Heck-It’s-Tuesday treats.
I found awesome inspiration for this project here. If you use this felt flower tutorial, leave me a comment and I’ll link to your photos!
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These came out so great. The mustard yellow one is really fabulous! I have seen these types of tutorials floating around the internet. I keep planning to make one. Perhaps I’ll give it a go this weekend 🙂
You should! Send me a pic if you do!
Wow those are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Just popping over from Whipperberry. Just beautiful. I’ve got a thing going for felt and fabric flowers and these are some of the best I’ve seen.
Anne xx
Thanks Anne! These were surprisingly easy to whip up. I think there will definitely be a few under the Christmas tree this year.
Thanks very much for this, I have been looking for the template for ages as I want to make some with stems for the table centepieces at my wedding. I have just made one and the first try was not bad! Thanks
I think I will try to supersize your template and see if I can transform these head-turners into a decorative pillow for my bed… Thank you sooooo much for the inspiration!
These are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your template. I am excited to make some of these for my girls as gifts for Christmas. Thank you again!
These would make a great Christmas gift. I admire your early planning!
These are FABULOUS! Absolutely fabulous!!!
I’d love fo you to link up to my very first Fresh Friday Link party!
http://www.releasemecreations.com/2011/10/fresh-fridays-link-party.html
-Maureen
Thanks Maureen! I’ll swing by.
Adorable felt flower and great tutorial.
Thanks for sharing.
LOVE this tutorial! I must admit though – I gave up on using an apparatus and went with my fingers instead. I actually have blisters. But they were worth it! Perhaps I should invest in a low-temp glue gun?
Glad you found it helpful! In the moment, those burns seem so worth it, don’t they? It’s only when I’m trying to fall asleep later and my fingers are throbbing that I second guess myself.
Hi! where do you get your felt? I love the colors! Great tutorial!
Thanks Kias! I got the felt at a store in Richmond called “Quilting Adventures.” I have seen similar felt at Joann’s and Hancock Fabrics though. This felt was 100% wool. It worked beautifully and I think it’ll be more durable than polyester felt, although I’ve seen that look pretty good also. Good luck!
Absolutely love these! Gorgeous colors! I had to share on my CraftBliss Facebook http://on.fb.me/kDlUKj page and link back to you. Thanks for creating and sharing! ~Dee
Awesome! Thanks, Dee!
These are so cute and I love your felt colors! Where did you find them? I’m going to attempt them today for a family photo shoot coming up! I’m hoping this cute flowers will mask the not-so-cute dress my daughter has to wear! Thanks for the tutorial!
Hey Kat! I think these flowers could mask a lot of things, but I’m sure you’re daughter’s dress isn’t that bad. I got my felt at a local store in Richmond called Quilting Adventures. Any fabric store should have some felt options though. I used 100% wool, but polyester felt would also work. Hope you enjoy and good luck with the photo shoot!
This tutorial is great! I was thinking about making a pillow of it. Would you mind sending me the enlarged template? Also, could I sew the petals instead of gluing them? I’m not sure how to do this though…
Hey Alanna, I’d be happy to send you an enlarged template. Do you know about how big you want the flower to be? I think you could definitely sew the petals instead of glue them. That would probably be a preferable way to go for a pillow. I think you could simple do a couple of whip stitches on the right and left side of each petal to hold the curled edge down (just replacing the glue with a stitch instead). Does that make sense? If not, let me know and I’ll try to explain it differently. I’ll send you the template shortly!
I just found your site. I absolutely love the flowers and can’t wait to make them. Those colors are to die for. Thanks for sharing.
Hi
Have just finished one I’ll upload onto my blog during the week. Thanks for the tute! Can’t do any more until I get some more glue sticks.
I woudl love the enlarged apttern to make a pillow. I just ran across this and think it is reallly neat.
Found you on pintrest. Thanks to your tutorial my seven year old has a beautiful hairclip!
Thank you for this awesome tutorial, complete with the link for printing it out. I printed the template out on cardstock to make it a little sturdier. Love all your beautiful flowers with the different centers! I facebooked this and will be sharing the link in my post for my fall wreath.
Thank you for this tutorial!! Made my 2 year old a lovely flower bow with cream felt and teal glitter vented (just poured a puddle of hot glue in the vented and dumped on glitter).
These flowers are lovely. I have pin it on my board.
http://pinterest.com/lcyeang/felt-crafts-that-i-love/
Awesome! I love that you have a board completely devoted to felt. How fuzzy and fun.
j
super ces fleurs!!!!! a-t-elle bien que nous allons organiser un après midi feutrine à l atelier avec les copines pour en fabriquer de toutes les couleurs merci
Hey!! Thank you sooo much for your helpful tutorial!! I made one for my daughters crochet headband that I made. It really dressed it up! How do I post a pic so you can see it? I can’t wait to check out the rest of your site.
Major xoxoxoxox!!!
Cin 😉
Cin,
Aweeeesooome! I’d love to see it. Please send it to me at jessicacoppom (at) gmail.com!
Can’t wait!
j
I know I’m a bit late coming to the party, but I just got my first glue gun and I’m eager to make some flowers for my daughter. She has gorgeous long hair and loves wearing flower barrettes! Can’t wait! Thanks for the tutorial!
Well, welcome to the party, Dana! Your life will never be the same!
Happy glueing.
j
It’s gorgeous!; thanks
Love the flowers that you created. Like many others, would love to have the template for the 10″ dahlia for a pillow. Would you mind emailing me as well?
Hey Elena,
I don’t have an exact pattern for it right now. You could try enlarging this one for the flower pins by just printing the pieces bigger. Otherwise, stay tuned and I’ll work on a tutorial in the near future!
Thanks for reading.
j
Happily tumbled onto your website just today! I love your projects and your sense of humor; I think it is quite alright if you want to glue one of these flowers to your toaster. ;-}
I’ve been knitting berets and stocking caps lately and one of your flowers with be the icing on the cake for them.
Thanks for a great website. I’ve already subscribed to your newsletter.
You are the flower making queen!! I especially am impressed by your photo tutorial. I would find myself lost making something like this alone, but you’re photos really help a girl out.