Make Artificial Flowers
Artificial flowers capture the essence of nature without actually sacrificing live flowers. Blossoms you make yourself will last forever, and they make gorgeous decorations or gifts. Read on to learn how to make flowers from tissue, ribbon or fabric.
Contents
Steps
Making Tissue Flowers
- Gather materials. To make delicate paper flowers that look similar to carnations, you need just a few simple supplies:
- 3 sheets of tissue paper in the same color
- A pair of scissors
- A ruler and a pencil
- A pipe cleaner
- Clear tape
- Florist tape
- Cut a rectangle from the tissue paper. Use the scissors to cut a rectangle measuring 12 inches (30.48 cm) long and 3 inches (7.62 cm) wide from the tissue.
- Draw lines on the rectangle. First draw a line with a ruler and pencil, a 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) from the bottom of your tissue paper rectangle. Draw a diagonal line from the top corner on 1 side that connects to the first line.
- Cut along the diagonal line. The smaller piece of tissue paper is excess and can be discarded.
- Create fringe. Cut straight lines from the top of the diagonal. The cuts should stop at the pencil line drawn straight across the tissue paper.
- Insert the stem. Tape the top of the pipe cleaner along the short side of the tissue paper using tape.
- Roll the tissue paper around the stem.
- Tape the edge of the tissue paper down around the stem. Use clear tape to prevent it showing.
- Wrap florist tape around the top of the stem and bottom of the flower.
- Pull the tissue paper tabs away from the center. This will finish the carnation.
- Finished.
Making Ribbon Flowers
- Pick out ribbon and other supplies. You can make fun, whimsical flowers using ribbons with patterns and polka dots, or take a more realistic approach by picking out ribbon in a hue reminiscent of petals. Here's what you'll need to make flowers from ribbon:
- A 12-inch length of ribbon
- A needle with thread that matches the ribbon
- Sew a running stitch along the length of the ribbon. This stitch weaves through the ribbon, allowing you to create the shape of a flower when you're finished.
- Thread the needle. Tie a knot at the end of the thread. This will hold it in place.
- Push the needle, from front to back, into the ribbon, along the edge. Pull the thread through until it is stopped by the knot. Push the needle, from back to front, and pull the thread through. Repeat this to complete the running stitch.
- Draw the thread tight. This should cause the ribbon to bunch before you finish the running stitch. This step will create the basic form of your ribbon flower: the petals.
- Stitch over the last few stitches. Otherwise known as backstitching, this will secure the form of your ribbon flower.
- Fold the ribbon so that it forms a circle. The tails of the ribbon should hang down from your hand as you hold the flower.
- Stitch from back to front across the tails of the ribbon. Stitch first up, then down. Secure the thread with a knot (or 2 if necessary).
- Cut off the ribbon tails. By cutting as close as possible to the stitch line, your flower will hold its circular shape.
- Sew a button into the center of the flower.
Making Fabric Flowers
- Pick out fabric and other supplies. Tulle, silk, and other light, airy fabrics are perfect for making fabric flowers. Here's what you'll need:
- A piece of fabric 4 inches wide and 20 inches long
- A needle and thread
- An iron
- Fold the fabric in half lengthwise.
- Stitch up the short ends.
- Turn the piece of fabric inside out. The seams on either end should now be on the inside.
- Iron the ends. Don't iron the middle of the fabric or the flower will end up with an unsightly crease.
- Baste along the long edge of the fabric. Thread the needle and knot one end. Baste along the long edge of the fabric where it folds. Keep stitching until you reach the other end.
- Gather the fabric.
- Push the fabric along the basted seam so that it gathers and resembles the petals of a rose.
- Sew the gathered ends. Use the end of the thread to sew the gathered ends together to keep the rose in shape.
- Finished.
Tips
- For the paper flower, be sure to roll the tissue paper evenly, so that the bottom edge aligns with itself.
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