How to make simple and beautiful flowers from felt.

It's really easy to make brooches and corsages from old felted jumpers and cardigans, but with so many different ways to make them it can be confusing. So I've been testing out various methods to see which I like best.

This is what I started with, the scissors give some sense of scale, this cardigan had shrunk down pretty small!

I cut the cardigan along the seams so I could see what useable pieces I had.

Then, with the help of my pinterest board, I just started making flowers

The Rolled Rose

This one is fun and fairly difficult to get wrong. 

Draw around something round, a side plate or lid of something is ideal.  

Cut out the circle and the cut a spiral, leaving a bit of a round in the middle. I forgot to photograph this stage so you have to manage with a picture instead!

Now roll the spiral up starting from the thinnest point, the outside of the circle. You can glue every few cms with a hot glue gun or stitch the layers together with thread the same colour.

When you get to the end, the round in the middle forms a nice tidy base. Glue or stitch round it.

Then you can add a brooch fastening or glue or stitch it to something else.

Rolled Rose take 2

This rolled rose is the same as the one above except this time it was a little bit smaller and the spiral cut was wiggly.

Flat felt flower with simple embroidery

This time I made 2 flower patterns. The larger is 9.5cm in diameter and the smaller one 6.5cm. 

• Take a piece of scrap paper and fold it in half.

• Fold in in thirds, then mark just over 4.5cm from the point and 2.5 cm on each side.

• Draw a curve joining all the points and cut out.

• When you open it out you should have a flower shape with 6 petals.

• For the smaller flower just make your marks 3.75cm and 2cm from the point respectively.

• Cut out 2 large and 1 small flower.

Embroider using 2 strands of embroidery thread as takes you fancy on the petals then use french knots through both layers to join them together. Just don't waste too much time on embroidery that won't be seen on the larger flower underneath.

To finish it off I used the 2nd of the larger flowers and stitched the 2 together using a navy blue sewing thread and an oversew stitch to cover the back neatly and added a brooch pin. 

Gathered Rolled Flower

I tried this out to use a long scrap of felted cardigan (the sleeve) than wasn't big enough to make a rolled rose.

I simple cut a length about 5cm at it's widest point by 45cm and made it taper off at one end. Using sewing thread doubled up for strength I stitched a line of running stitch all along one side and pulled it up to gather the strip of felt.

I rolled it up and stitched it together to secure.

I added a leaf shape of green felted jumper to the back of this one to tidy it up, then stitched on a brooch pin. 

Button Centre Flower

This flower is made from separate petals so is great for using even the tiniest scraps. 

Make yourself a petal template, this photo gives you an idea of the shape you are aiming for. 

Cut 6 petals from felt, then pinch each petal in half at the flat end and stitch or glue them together. Then you just attach all the petals to one another in a circle. I didn't seem to take any 'as I go along' photos here but it's pretty self explanatory.

I added a button to cover the small hole left in the centre.

I tidied up the back with a circle of felt and added a brooch fastening. 

These are the 5 methods of making felt flowers that I've tested so far but there are loads more. I've got a Pinterest Board dedicated to all kind of flower making which you can check out. Plus I've found some more lovely ideas from other websites:

These roses from Pillar Box Blue are also made from old felted knitwear. There are great step by step instructions to show you how to make these.

These loopy flowers from Stamp Talk with Tosh are so much fun, they look really easy to make too.

What about these lovelies from Craft your Happiness? You can make them in just 5 minutes, I love a quick craft don't you? 

Just look at these embellished beauties from Sewn Up, so pretty.

Last but by no means least what about this stunning faux succulents vertical hanging wall garden from Julie Measures. Julie has mixed felt and pinecones, what a brilliant and completely mess free idea. 

So much choice! 

Do you have a favourite?

I’ll be sharing these ideas at these link ups