How to Make Flowers From Felted Fabric

Experiment with printed designs and patterns on felted fabrics to make different colors of flowers.

Dress your hat or embellish an otherwise ordinary skirt with a brooch made from felted fabric flowers. You can also use the felted flowers as hair pins or the finishing touch on a knitted scarf. Felted fabrics are materials that can be processed with hot water so they turn into a water-resistant article that will not ravel. Your handmade felt flowers won't need hemming, and the felt fabric can be manipulated into a plethora of styles of blossoms.

Things You'll Need

• 100 percent wool sweater, adult large
• Sharp scissors
• Embroidery needle
• Embroidery floss
• Hot glue gun

Instructions

1. Wash a 100 percent adult-sized wool sweater in hot soapy water; felting more than one sweater at a time is ideal for creating necessary friction in the fabrics. Dry the sweater on high heat. Check the fabric for signs of felting, including shrinkage by at least two sizes, tightness in the weave and will not ravel if cut. Repeat the wash and dry process until the fabric is felted, if necessary.

2. Form a rosette. Cut a 4-inch circle from the felted fabric using sharp scissors. Start from the outside and cut a 1/2-inch wide spiral around the fabric until you reach the center. Hold the center of the spiral as you roll the fabric flat against itself into a spiral; don’t roll the spiral too tight or the center will be squeezed out. Use an embroidery needle and floss to run at least four stitches through the base of the spiral so the stitches go through each layer to secure the rosette.

3. Create a stacked flower. Cut five circles-- 1-inch, 1 1/2-inch, 2-inch, 2 1/2-inch and 3-inch in diameter -- from the felted fabric. Stack the circles in ascending order so the circles are centered on top of each other. Stitch embroidery floss through the center of the circles starting from the bottom side, up through the top and then back down again to form a 1/16-wide loop in the top of the smallest circle. Repeat the stitching so the second loop crosses with the first loop to form a cross in the center.

4. Make a flower with petals. Cut 15 1 1/2-inch equilateral triangles from the felted fabric. Hold a triangle by one of the flat sides. Roll the right and left corners so they overlap by 1/4-inch. Use hot glue to secure the corners together to form a petal. Form petals with the remaining 14 triangles. Cut a 2-inch circle from the felted fabric. Attach a ring of seven petals with the open tips pointing out around the circle of felt; use hot glue to secure. Add a ring of four petals inside the first ring; form a third ring by attaching the remaining four petals. Fill the center with a felted rosette, if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• You can felt anything that contains at least 75 percent animal fibers, such as wool, that has not been pretreated so it is machine washable.