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Flower Tutorial - Fabric YoYo flowers

Flower Tutorial - Fabric YoYo flowers
Fabric YoYo flowers Tutorial
As promised in my YoYo flowers on down the page a bit, I said if anyone wanted a tutorial on how to make these little fabric flowers that I would gladly do one for you.  So a few of you have asked for a tutorial, so here it is.

These wee flowers are unbelievably easy to make and literally take minutes but they are so pretty and would be beautiful to embellish cards, tags, scrapbook pages, frames, altered projects..........the list is endless.  And of course depending on what centre you put in the flowers, they are very flat and light so they would not be an expensive embellishment to have on your cards.  And you need very little fabric too.  Obviously it depends on the size of flower you want to make.  But you can use any type of fabric, even have a wee rummage through your old clothes and that lonesome bag of clothes that was meant to go to the charity shop but now sits forgotten at the back of your wardrobe!!  Obviously don't be taking chunks out of your hubby's or wife's favourite t-shirt!!

So here we go.  Here's the tutorial.  As usual if you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I am always willing to help.

WHAT YOU NEED
What you need
Fabric...........any kind.  Just whatever you have.  I'm using a polka dot fabric I bought in fat quarters.
Needle and thread.  Does'nt have to be a particular type or colour.....it won't be seen anyway.
Embellishments for your flower centres......I'm using vintage type buttons but you can use whatever you like.  Another small flower would be nice or some flat back gems or pearls.
Scissors.
An adhesive to glue in your flower centres.  I prefer to use hot glue as it dries quickly and adheres the centres so those wee suckers aint going anywhere!!

TUTORIAL
1. Turn over small edge and do a running stitch

2. Carry on right around the fabric turning over the edge
You need to cut a circle of fabric.  Now, the size of your circle will determine the size your flower will be (obviously Loops!!  Duh!).  For example, my circle measure just over 9cm diameter.  So that will make a flower which will be just over 4cm.  I like to use my Sizzix Circle Die to cut my circles but it is very easy to cut them by hand.  The circle doesn't need to be perfect.  So roughly, whatever size you want your actual end product flower to be, you need to cut a piece of fabric that is almost half as big again.  So if you want a 5cm flower, your piece of fabric needs to be a 10cm diameter circle of fabric.

So my fabric is cut in a circle and is 9cm in diameter.  If your fabric has a pattern, place the pattern face down.  Whatever side you want to be seen needs to go face down.

Take the edge of your fabric and fold over the edge inwards just a small amount .......see photos above.  It doesn't have to be perfectly even all the way round.  Your flower will still work beautifully.  

Make your first stitch from the inside out and simply sew a running stitch right around the circle, remembering to turn over your edges.  Don't be panicking about how evenly spaced your stitches are, there are no strict rules with these flowers.  The tighter together your stitches will result in a flower with a lot of pleats closer together.  The wider apart your stitches the less pleats you'll have and they'll be spaced further apart.
3. Make sure your last stitch is next to your first stitch

4. Take both pieces of thread and pull together
Once you have sewn almost all the way around your flower, you'll need to ensure that your last stitch is as close to the first stitch as possible and the last stitch is sewn from the outside in.  See photo 3.

You now need to take the end of the thread with the knot (which was your first stitch) and the needle and thread part and pull them together to pucker your flower.  See photo 4 and 5.
5.  Pull on both ends of the thread to pucker the fabric

6.  Tie both pieces of threads in a tight knot

7.  Arrange your flower and flatten
Now that you have pulled both threads to pucker the fabric, it will probably look a bit of  mess and look like a little messy sack.  Dont panic, it should look like that.  Tie both pieces of thread together down as close to the fabric as possible and snip your threads.  See photos 5 and 6.

Arrange and flatten your flower into a circle and it should look like photo 7 above.

Now its entirely up to you as to how you want to finish off the flower.  I like to add a decorative button or pearl centres.  I prefer to use hot glue when adhering my buttons but you may use whichever method of adhering you prefer.

Heres how they look finished.




I hope this has been a useful tutorial and you try them out.  I'd love to see your results.  Try out different types of fabric.  Lace ones are beautiful too.  Try some tulle or organza ones.  Maybe try a thin denim, they would look fantastic sewn onto your kids school bags or pencil cases.  Any questions, give me a shout.  And I appreciate and am very grateful for any comments.  Thank you. 

Toodles Noodles....Loops xx

Would you like to buy me a coffee which helps me maintain this blog so I can make bigger and better content, simply click on the image or copy the link below.  No pressure at all, its just if you want to.  Cheers big ears!

Comments

  1. these are fantastic lee.thanks for sharing :D

    xx coops xx

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  2. thanks Lee, these are great and I will certainly be trying them
    Tilly

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  3. Hi Lee.... beautiful flowers and a fab tutorial... many thanks - will try them soon!
    Hugs
    Christine x

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  4. Hi Lee, Gorgeous flowers today. x

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  5. What a great blog you've got here Lee, I've really enjoyed having a look through your tutorials tonight... I particuarly liked the paper cabbage roses. Thanks for all your hard work and for sharing your knowledge and creativity so willingly.
    Cheers,
    Beccy

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  6. Gorgeous flowers as usual, thank youfor the inspiration.

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  7. these are stunning..great tutorial will have to have a go ;)
    magsx

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  8. Great tutorial, might have to try those!!

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  9. Thank you for sharing will have to have a go and see what I can do. Love Alison xxxx

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  10. These are gorgeous Lee,thanks for sharing.
    Wendy xx

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  11. Will be trying this one out. Thanks Lee. Where do you get your vintage buttons from? xx

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  12. Oh! Lee, these are stunning. I love the beautiful buttons, where are they from? Thanks hun for another fab tut, you are so lovely to keep doing these for us all. :o)

    Donna x

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  13. Hi Lee - you're flowers are just stunning. I had a good nosey about your blog and I LOVE the white lace and fabric ones. I will definately be having a go at them. Added your blog to my follow list.

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  14. these are lovely lee. ad i too was wondering where you got your buttons from!
    kathleen mc x

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  15. omg, I NEED those flowers! So incredibly cute and the colours just sing to me, especially that soft sea blue ... yum!
    Hugs
    Annika

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  16. Very useful tutorial!
    Beautiful flowers!

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  17. thanks for the tut they look gorgeous! i love your blog im a follower now.

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  18. Gorgeous! Prima will be jealous with you sharing all these great flower tutorials! ;-) Late leapblogging! Have a great week :-) Elaine-xxx-

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  19. your tutorials are always so superb Lee, so clear and easy to follow...thank you so much for the poem its beautiful, of course it wasnt to hard for you to remember as it wasnt very long ago was it 'ahem' lol
    Mina xxx

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  20. Another fab tutorial Lee! I don't get by here nearly often enough!
    Thanks for all your kind comments on my blog
    Hugs
    Dawn xx

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  21. Great tutorial for the flowers, well done.
    Maureen.......x

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  22. These are amazing Lee, Fab tutorial too.
    Becky x

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  23. Fantastic tutorial hun those flowers are gorgeous! Also enjoy using the cheesecloth when it arrives, you won't be able to put it down! lol xxx

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  24. Thank you Lee for this brilliant tutorial! Beautiful flowers! Hugs, kissinia

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  25. Such gorgeous flowers Lee, they look beautiful, you really are crafty! thanks for visiting my blog this morning, hugs Teresa xx

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  26. Lee - these are beautiful!!! You are seriously amazing - I totally am not a seamstress at all - but you totally have me inspired girl! I must try this (will let you know when I do!) Thank you for the clear and awesome tutorial!!!
    Big hugs!
    Sankari :)

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  27. Hiya,
    thanks for the lovely comment you left me.
    can I just say what a fab tutorial, just threw out a ragbag so I have the perfect excuse to go crafty shopping now lol
    Debz
    xx

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  28. lee those are brill and a great way to use up odd bits of fabric xxx

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  29. Wonderful work and great tutorial, thanks for sharing!
    Thanks for visiting the Pixie Blog and for the shout out for Pixie, good luck!

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  30. Amazing! look just like those expensive Prima ones! You should go into business with these! Hugs Rebekah xx

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  31. So pretty! I tried making these, yeah they didn't turn out as nice as yours. LOL

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  32. wow fabulous flowers....and I just saw a flash of white flowers before when I was scrolling.....off for a look now!x

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  33. Hi, wow I love these too, I am gonna have a go so thanks for sharing with a fab tutorial, Karenxx

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  34. love these flowers - might get some scraps out and give it a go
    Linda

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  35. Well! I paid 4.50 for a yo yo maker ages ago and sat carefully making them, thinking I was all clever, but sad to say I was rubbish at it! Now I see that you can make them yourself and they look fab! I'm going to give it another go and see how they come out! Fab tutorial!! Woo x

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  36. Ooh, I've been given some fabric remnants lately and just purchased some circle dies - hmm, seems like the perfect thing to try out!! Yep, I'll definitely be giving these little cuties a try, you've made it look so simple that even I could manage it!! Thank you :)

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Helloooooo! Anybody out there??!! Hey....there you are! Thanks for leaving a comment and stopping by my Blog. Lee x