Flowers, flowers, everywhere!! But not a single one to eat!

Dear Minions!!

Here's another lovely little craft for you to do on your down time or to give some handmade, unique flare to your creations! Chiffon flowers (This is where the Dainty Lace comes in )! I've mastered roses and carnations so here we go!!

 This is what the finished Rose looks like! Here's how we make it!!

Step 1! Get your fabric, a needle and some thread ( I've used black thread in this to help show the stitching as I go). I have a piece of sea-foam coloured chiffon ( you will see this in an upcoming skirt tutorial!), dimensions are about 75cm x 50cm.

 Step 2! Cut a 3" (8cm) wide strip of the chiffon, the longer the better so I cut a 75cm length.

Step 3! Fold the piece in half (3" to 1.5") as this will add body to the flower.

Step 4! Cut along the open edge on a soft angle, this will make the center set deeper into the flower and give the illusion of the inner petals.

Step 5! To start the flower I took about 1.5" from the narrow edge and folded it over on itself 3 times to give the petal effect of the inner roll of the flower. I then tacked the layers together with two stitches pulled tightly to keep the integrity of the folds. By making small folds ( about 1/4" each) that slightly overlap. Stitch each down from the center close to the outer edge of each segment. 

 

Step 6! Move outward from the center roll with your overlapping folds as pictured above.

As you work around the layers will add up and should start to look like this.

Step 7! As you work farther and farther out you'll want to start stitching through the opposite side of the flower to give the illusion of the outer petals which on a real rose sit lower than the bulkier body petals of the rose.

As you stitch across the flower base and pull the layers tighter together as you continue in the round it will look something like this.

Step 8! Once you've achieved the fullness you want for your rose, clip the excess fabric and fold it neatly in then stitch through the base of the flower a few more times to make sure it's tight and neat!

Your rose should look like this on top. If you like the jagged look you can fray the inner "petals" a bit by pulling at them. To get the smooth effect as pictured below simply trim the frayed edges and to keep everything trim and tidy a bit of Fray Check can be applied to your edges ( available at your friendly neighbourhood sewing/quilting/craft shop!). It will dry clear so don't freak out if it drips a bit :)

Et Voila! Votre petite fleur!!

These are a little finicky when you first start making them but they come in really handy if you want to embellish a dress, or make a cute little hair accessory for that super hard to match colour ( I know my local Ardene's and Claire's have drastically cut back on their variety of hair flowers!! Quel Horreur!). Once you get the hang of it, ( if your thread co-operates!) they take under half an hour to make!

This is a lot of info to absorb so keep your eyes peeled and I'll  add the tutorial for carnations in a PDF a little later on in the week, let me know if this method is better and I'll start posting all my tutorials in PDF format (or I'll just post the companions in PDF if people prefer the initial tutorial being posted in full!). Let me know! That's all for tonight my darling minions!!!!

So keep kreepin',

Missa Deadlove xoxo