Monday, February 8, 2010

Felt Rose Tutorial

I'm delighted so many of you were interested in my doing this tutorial! These little rose buds are SO easy to make!

Oh and let me just say up front that I am in no way shape or form an expert in sewing - please let me know if you have any questions.

Ok, let's get started! Here's what you'll need:
  • A 2" wide x 10" long strip of red felt (I used Eco-fi, but 100% wool would be lovely too!)
  • A 3.5" x 3.5" block of green felt
  • Red thread
  • Green thread (or invisible thread - I started using this, but had a hard time working with it since I could barely see the thread... guess that's the point though!).
  • A needle
  • A pair of scissors

:: First, take the red strip of felt and with your scissors create scallops along one side. Create small scallops first and then at about the halfway point make the scallops larger (these will be your outer petals).
:: Next, create the leaves by folding your green felt block in half and cutting out identical leaf shapes that should end up being about 2" long x 1" wide.

:: Make your rosebud by rolling the red felt strip scalloped side up, starting with the small scallops. You may need to re-roll a few times to get the overlapping petals look.

:: Using your red thread and holding the rosebud firmly in your hand, begin sewing the bottom of it. I know, my stitching is pretty random. It takes a lot of stitches to secure the many layers of the rosebud. I'm sure there's an easier, nicer looking way of stitching this, but this novice is not that skilled. Also this part gets covered by the leaves anyway.

:: After you've stitched the rosebud, prepare your leaves. Overlap them slightly and with your green thread stitch them together.

:: Next you'll attach the leaves to the base of the rosebud. First, line up the middle of the leaves with the bottom of the rosebud. Then pulling back the leaves slightly, thread the needle through the middle bottom of the rosebud into the leaves. Keep doing this until the two are well connected.

:: Then move onto the edge of the rosebud. This part can be a little tricky. What I do is a little something I like to call "tuck and stitch". :) Thread the needle at the very base of the flower and "tuck it" into the leaves. Do this all the way around the rosebud, trying your best to tuck deeply so no green thread will appear on the flower. (Here is where the invisible thread would work nicely.)

:: Now that your flower is nearly complete, there's just one last thing to do. Flatten the rose petals outward to create that "opening bud" look.

That's it! You now have a sweet little rosebud. :)

I made a dozen of these to use for a Valentine's Day Montessori activity.

21 comments:

Nicole {tired, need sleep} said...

These are beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial!

Montessori Beginnings said...

You rock!! Those are beautiful. Thank you for posting a tutorial.

Sheena said...

Wow, it looks like something even I could do! they look great. I didn't know it was that easy. Thanks for the tutorial.

Sherri said...

those are very cute!

Ms Muffin said...

Wow, these are cute!

Karen said...

Those are beautiful!!! but, I let that to you girls!!! You're a Star!!!! I'll keep scrapbooking!!lol

silly eagle books said...

These are beautiful!

Packer Family said...

Perfect! Love it!

Danielle said...

With my lack of "crafty skills" I will most definitely need this tutorial. These are really cute and I'll make this with my girls this week. Thanks for the adorable idea!

Susan-Chasing Marcus said...

Thank you! I hope to have Sophie's Valentines Day treats post up later on ....Maybe I can whip up a rose or two.
The jab and sew thing you were talking about is either an applique or blind hem stitch (the differences are so slight not really worth mentioning). So if you see either of those you know how to do the stitch!

Anonymous said...

So fun! I didn't as for a tutorial because I figured I wouldn't be able to do it! However, that doesn't look as hard as I thought! They are super cute!

Jo Shabo said...

Those roses are precious--- hey- I sent you an award-check my blog ! :)

Paul said...

nice handiwork!

Stacy said...

What beautiful roses! I have a blogger award for you:
http://bubblesballoonsandblessings.blogspot.com/2010/02/beautiful-blogger-award-how-sweet.html

Musical Mama said...

These are beautiful! Thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hello! I look forward to having some free time to peruse yours. :)

~Nicole, A Munchkin's World

Leptir (NataĊĦa) said...

So beautiful....

Jen said...

These are FABULOUS! I think I, the most uncreative, sewing challenged person could even make these. Thank you so so much for sharing this tutorial.

Heather said...

That is beautiful! I wish I had seen this earlier so I would have time to make them for valentines day. OOOh you could make different color roses and make patterns with them! Meaning red, pink, yellow, red, pink, yellow.. etc. or sorting work. This is lovely! I'm going to have to go get some felt! Thank you!

Poppy said...

Great post! These are wonderful!

kewkew said...

Thanks for the tutorial. Now I just need to go and buy some felt.

Heidi@OneCreativeMommy.com said...

These are beautiful. I'd love for you to link this (and any other felt projects you'd like to share) up at my Felt Food Roundup on OneCreativeMommy.com. (I have a section for non-food projects.) I hope to see you there!

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