DIY Rosettes

I saw this tutorial on Girl.Inspired. & thought to myself, “Hey, I can do that!” So last weekend I set out to try my own fabric-flower-making skills. These trendy little rosettes are so easy to make & could be worn as a headband, a hair clip, a brooch, or even a pin on your handbag.

I purchased all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby, & hardly spent anything to make a ton of these awesome do-dads. To make these rosettes you will need:
-Felt- 25 cents per sheet
-Headbands- 2 for $1.99
-Thread- $1.99, the color doesn’t actually matter because it will be covered up, so if you already have some, you can use that)
-Clips for brooches/hair- $3.99 for a pack of 25
-Fabric- select any pattern that you like. I got a ½ yard of fabric in 5 different prints for $11.95 (everything came off the clearance rack). To be honest, I don’t think you need more than a ¼ of a yard of fabric because I have a lot of leftover fabric.
-Glue gun- I already had one of these but they do sell them at HL if you need one.

It takes very little time to make these little guys; it took me about 15 minutes for each one. So let’s get started:
1. Cut your fabric 2 inches thick from selvage edge to selvage edge. Girl.Inspired. suggested 2 ½ inches thick but I found that left me with a HUGE flower that overpowered my head. (If it was too big for my head, than I could only imagine how big it would look on my nieces- my gorgeous guinea pigs. So to me smaller is better).
2. Fold your fabric in half lengthwise, with the print on the outside, & iron. I know, I know, I didn’t mention that this project would require you to iron, but trust me it’s worth it. Your strip of fabric should be about an inch wide now. 3. Sew a gathering stitch on the edge down the length of the fabric, pulling it tight. Now this is up to your preference: you can either sew down the FOLDED side OR the OPENED side. If you sew on the folded edge, the frayed side will be seen giving your flower a more vintage look. Alternatively, if you sew on the opened edge, the folded edge will be seen offering a more formal look. I like them both, but I think what I discovered last weekend was that I like the frayed look on solids, but not on prints with a lot of detail.

The flower on the left has a more vintage look & was sewn on the folded edge. The flower on the right is more formal, & was sewn on the opened edge.

This is a gathering stitch; it's very easy & a machine is not required.

4. Gather the fabric very tightly.

5. Starting at one end, wrap the fabric around itself tightly. As you are rolling, sparingly add drops of hot glue around the spiral.

6. Cut a small circle of felt & glue it to the middle of the bottom of the flower. Then work your way around bottom ruffle of the flower, gluing it to the felt. Now you can add a clip if you want to, or you can keep going to make a headband. 7. Cut another long thin piece of fabric (about an inch thick) & 2 smaller pieces. Glue the 2 smaller pieces of fabric on each end of the headband to cap it off. Then tightly wrap & glue (sparingly) the longer piece of fabric around the headband. Be careful with the glue, because if your finger accidentally touches the glue & then you touch the fabric without knowing, you will leave a white spot (I did this, oops!)
8. Decide where you want your flower to be position & glue it to your headband. Cut out another circle of felt & glue it to the back of the flower, sandwiching the headband in between the felt.

9. Tada!!!! That’s it! My first flower was a little on the big side, as I mentioned before, but remember you can always go back after your done to trim it shorter. Isn't that so easy?! Have fun with this project! I can't wait to see the rosettes you make!