DIY Lace Pinwheels

The petals of a pinwheel create a floral effect.

The whimsical design of a pinwheel, with its symmetrical points, makes it desirable for artistic projects, such as a pinwheel lace corsage or wedding bouquet. Pinwheels can be made from a variety of different materials, such as paper or fabric. As a background for a corsage or bouquet, pinwheels from fabric can be elegant or capricious, depending upon the desired style for the occasion. A lace pinwheel uses a layer of lace fabric and a layer of woven interfacing fabric to add body and stiffen the pinwheel.

Things You'll Need

• Lace fabric
• Woven interfacing fabric
• Fabric adhesive
• Chiffon fabric
• Needle
• Thread, color-matched to chiffon
• Satin ribbon
• Spray-on starch
• Dowel rod, optional
• Decorative shank-style button
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Brooch pin, optional
• Felt fabric, optional

Instructions

1. Measure a 5-inch square on each piece of fabric, the lace and the woven material. Cut out the squares. Sandwich the two pieces of fabric together, with right sides out. Use a 5-inch square of iron-on fabric adhesive between the squares to bond the fabric pieces together, or use spray-on fabric adhesive applied to the wrong side of one of the squares. Lace from synthetic fabric can melt under an iron -- a cotton cloth between the lace and the iron can prevent this.

2. Mark a diagonal straight line on your fabric square, from point to point, using your ruler and pencil. These lines should form an "X" on your fabric. Make a dot where the lines of the "X" meet in the center. Measure from the dot to 3/4-inch on each line. Mark the 3/4-inch location with a dot on each line. Cut on the diagonal lines from each point to the 3/4-inch mark. You now have four triangles joined in the center.

3. Cut on each line from the point to the 3/4-inch mark. Put a dot of hot glue on the center dot of the square. Turn the right-hand point of each triangle into the center. Secure with hot glue. Use a pencil or dowel stick to press the point into the glue to avoid burning your fingers.

4. Spray starch on three 6-inch lengths of satin ribbon. Wrap the ribbons around a dowel stick or pencils. Pin the ribbons to the sticks with straight pins to hold them in place. When the ribbons are dry, remove the pins and slide the ribbons off the sticks. Pull on the ribbon curls to loosen the curls, if desired. Hold the ribbons in one hand with the ends of the ribbons on one end overlapping each other. Place this end of the ribbons onto the center of the pinwheel and secure with hot glue.

5. Cut a piece of chiffon fabric 2 1/2-inches wide by 8-inches long. Thread your needle with thread of a matching color. Baste stitches 1/4-inch from one long edge of the fabric, leaving a 6-inch tail of thread at the beginning. Cut the thread so there is a 6-inch tail of thread on each side. Slide the fabric on the basting stitches to gather the chiffon into a tight rosette. Tie the tails of thread together to hold the rosette in place.

6. Glue the chiffon rosette into the center of the pinwheel. Glue a shank-style button into the center of the rosette.

7. Glue a brooch fastener onto the back of the pinwheel, if your pinwheel is to be used as a corsage. Make certain the fastener is perpendicular to the ribbon falls. If desired, a piece of felt fabric can be glued over the back of the brooch fastener.

Tips & Warnings

• Make a practice pinwheel out of paper to gauge the size of the pinwheel. If a 5-inch pinwheel is too small or too large for your project, make a larger or smaller pinwheel and test its dimensions for your corsage, bouquet or other project. The important thing to remember is to always use a square for symmetry.

• A paper doily can be used to make a lacy paper pinwheel.

Resources

• Education World: Playful Pinwheels