flower pin tutorial

Here it is! The thing I was working on - other than compulsively organizing our apartment in preparation for Baby #2 - is this little tutorial. Enjoy! :)
(by the way, this is a great way to use up random scraps of fabric that you might otherwise toss as you are spring cleaning your stash)

start by sewing - with a doubled thread to prevent breakage - through the end of the strip to anchor your thread and gather the end. this will be the center of your flower.

materials:
fabric - a strip (at least an inch wide) cut from a 45" piece of material, selvage to selvage
scissors
needle and thread
pin back
fabric glue

Cut a piece of fabric at least an inch wide (your flower will be twice as wide as your strip). I used a quilting weight fabric that was 45" wide for this flower, but you can use any type in any length. The length that you use will determine how "full" your flower is.

continue to sew a running stitch along one side of the strip, pulling the thread to gather it every few inches.

once you have sewn and gathered about 12" or so, begin to coil the strip into a flower, sewing it in place as you go...

...continuing to gather, coil and stitch until you come to the end of the strip.

It should look a little like this.

Sew the pin back on and knot off the thread. Almost done!

Glue a snippet of fabric over the bar of the pin (this part allows you to hide any messy stitches).

Ta da! That's it. Rather simple and quick, unless you are interrupted, that is ......... some of these flowers have taken me more than a day to complete. :) And, if you want the one I made for the tutorial, you can buy it here in my Etsy shop.