Summer Floral Garland!
...a Summer Floral Garland!
Hello makers!
I've been looking forward to this week's Chloe Makes since I came up with the idea. It's a fun crafty make that doesn't even need a sewing machine (though I used one, shh)! It's definitely a good one to share with your children, and keep them occupied during half term, or quarantine, you choose! For this make, all you will need is some form of string, I'm using a natural twine as I like the more realistic look, plus it's easier to sew through. Coloured felt, definitely green, but other than that, pick any colour you want your flowers to be! I'm using white and yellow for daisies. You'll also need some glue and a hand sewing needle and thread.
First, I cut the green felt into different shapes and sizes of leaf. The quickest and easiest way of doing this is to fold the felt into 3 longways and cut out multiples at once!
Next, take a piece of paper to make a template, you can do this any shape your want your flowers to be, as I'm going for daisies, I've drawn the shapes so they'll all be the same size. Fold the paper into half and half again so you only need to cut a little bit!
Cut out 2 shapes for each flower as many times as you want flowers. I've got 8 shapes, for the 4 flowers I'm going to make.
Layer one shape on top of the other at a slight angle to the other to show the petals underneath and give more dimension. Either glue or sew the two together.
Next moving on to the centre of the flower. Cut a length of yellow felt, fold in half and either glue or sew the raw ends together. Cut along the fold at even intervals all the way along. Then roll the length into itself to make a spiral and secure at the end so it doesn't unravel.
This next part can be done by hand or machine sewing, but machine sewing is definitely quicker. On each leaf, sew up the centre to create a fold, you can put two together, or just keep them on their own.
Secure the yellow centres to the petal pieces. Again, for this you can use glue or hand sew, I used a silicone glue which worked perfectly.
We're now on to the assembly! I found the easiest and best way to secure leaves was to go through the string and the back of the leaf where you've sewn and tie a double knot to secure it.
Carry on adding leaves and flowers to create the look you're going for. You don't have to only have one type of flower either! Watch this space for a 'Chloe Makes More' I might just do another tutorial on how to make felt sunflowers!
However, if you only want one type of flower, you're done!
That's all for me today, like I said, keep an eye out later on in the week for a Chloe Makes More! And as always, send us your most recent makes for us to look at and you may appear in our weekly round up!
