Flowers

Today I've mainly been focusing on flowers to use on a few of my designs including hair clips, brooches etc. I've used two different methods to create flowers.

Method 1, The easy, less fiddly one
This basically involves a lot of ribbon and a needle and thread. I used smaller pieces of ribbon in similar colours so I could graduate the colour of the petals. I actually got the ribbon pieces as an absolute bargain from the pound shop.

I used a running stitch along the edge of the ribbon.

When I had done all the running stitch in all the ribbon I could then pull the thread to ruffle the ribbon.

Once all the ribbon was done and ruffled then I could shape the flower in the position desired and sew it together at the back.

Method 2, Involves a lot more precision

I read about this method on a few other blogs and decided to try it out. Firstly I needed 6 larger squares of material and 4 slightly smaller squares.

With the squares of fabric I then cut each separate pile into a circle shape.

Once that was done I could then cut petal shapes into the fabric. Don't follow my idiocy and not use a pattern.

Once the flower shapes are cut the smaller pile can then be placed on top of the other. I then mixed up the sequence of the petals to make it more like a flower.

A stitch was then put in the middle to hold the pile together. Squeezing and shaping the back of the flower shaped pile then added a more realistic shape to the overall flower. this could then be stitched into place.

Then the flower is complete and could be added to a hair clip or whatever takes your fancy.

Start of the collection...

I've been sewing and crafting for a while but only lately have I decided to take it a little bit more seriously. I'm thinking I might start creating a larger collection, see what people think of them and maybe sell them; see how things go. On here I will be talking about the latest crafts and my progress with them.

For Christmas I decided to make peg bags for my mum and gran, which are a fab place to start if you're looking for something easy to make. All you need really is one piece of material and sew it over to make a pocket, put a hole in the top for a coat-hanger and you're done. You can also add a few cute details such as lining or a bow as seen below...

At the moment I'm working on some clip purses which are turning out to be a bit of a nightmare getting the material to stay in the clip purse frame so any advice would be fantastic. This is what I have so far...

I am also working on a union flag cushion at the moment as well. I keep seeing them everywhere and want to get in on the act. At the moment I'm working on an all green design and have just been working out how I want to material before I start sewing. So far it doesn't look too bad...

Well that was until my cat Lizzie got to it...

Hopefully I'll get it back off her and be able to sew it together soon.