Though Spring-inspired, this sweet flower-and-button accessory is perennially pretty. Choose any color combination of felt you please, and then follow the easy five-step guide below to create one—or a whole bouquet—of wear-worthy blooms.
Materials
• 6" strips of felt in varying widths from 1 1/2" to 2 1/4" (1 or 2 per brooch)
• Straight pins
• Small sewing scissors
• Sewing needle and thread
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
• Buttons
• Pin backings (we used Westrim 1" silver pin backs, $2.29 for 60; CreateForLess.com)
Instructions
1. Fold one of the wider strips of felt in half lengthwise and pin the long edges together. Cut a series of slits along the length of the folded side; space them about 1⁄3" apart and leave a 1⁄3" uncut border along the pinned edge. Thread the needle with 36" of thread (in a color that matches the felt strip), double it and knot at the ends. Start to sew the felt together along the pinned edge, using small running stitches about 1⁄8" long.
2. As you sew, gently tug the thread so the sewn edge gathers tightly and the strip begins to form a circular shape. Continue until circle is completed. Cut off any excess felt, leaving the needle and thread still attached. To keep gathers in place, sew a running stitch back through them around the sewn edge.
3. Join the two ends together by folding the circle in half, forming a U shape with the ends matching up. Sew a few whipstitches along the raw edges (see illustration below), starting at the center of the circle and ending where the slits begin. Knot the thread securely and cut.
4. Unfold the flower and press it flat, adjusting the petals so they're evenly spaced. If desired, make a smaller flower from one of the narrower felt strips and hot-glue it onto the front of the first. From the same color felt as your bottom flower, cut a circle that's at least 1⁄3" larger in diameter than the center hole. Hot-glue the circle to the back of the bottom flower; let dry.
5. Sew a button onto the front of the flower, stitching it all the way through the felt circle on the back. (If your button is too small to cover the center hole, cut a circle the same size as the back circle from a contrasting color felt. Glue it to the front, let dry, then sew on the button.) Glue a pin backing to the back of the finished brooch; let dry.
Project by Diane Gilleland, creator of the blog and podcast CraftyPod.com.
Photos: Alison Gootee/Woman's Day; Illustrations: Brown Bird Designs
