Pretty petals

Use up scraps for this quick project

YOU WILL NEED

■ Sewing machine

■ Denim scraps in pale blue

■ Felt scraps in coral, mustard and

lavender

■ Pale grey felt for backing

■ String or cord in pale grey

■ Seam sealant such as Fray Stopper ■ Sewing thread in navy blue

■ Air or water soluble pen

■ Basic sewing kit

■ Brooch back

NOTES

■ Turn to p157 for the templates

These quick- to- sew brooches make ideal last- minute gifts, and you can also use the same templates to make beautiful bunting. They're a great way to sharpen freehand skills!

TRACING AND CUTTING OUT

Step one Trace around the flower templates and cut them out. Draw around them onto the denim using an erasable pen or use them as inspiration to draw your own flowers.

Step two Trace around the circles in the flower centres and cut out as many coloured felt circles as you wish for both the flower centres and for the circles placed along the string between them. Our string is 1.5m long with 3 gerberas, 3 daisies and 14 felt circles.

MAKING THE FLOWERS AND CIRCLES

Step one Pin the denim flowers onto the pale grey felt.

Step two Cut roughly outside the drawn lines through the denim and felt so you have individual pinned flowers ready to sew. 1

Step three Take one of the denim and felt pinned flowers and stitch around the petal outline. Stitch around it a second time just off the first lines to give it a hand- sketched look. 2 Step four Place one of the felt circles in the centre of a flower and sew in place, working around the circle several times to create an overlapping spiral effect. 3 Step five Repeat this to make all of the flowers in the same way.

Step six Take a scrap of denim and sew any felt circles you want for your string on top of it.

FINISHING THE EDGES

Step one Cut out both your flowers and your felt circles, cutting close to the sewn petal lines, 2mm is about right. 4

Step two Paint seam sealant around all the raw edges of the flowers and circles. Leave to dry then trim off any loose frayed threads. 5

HOW TO MAKE A FLOWER BROOCH

Step one Sew a brooch back onto the reverse of one flower. Work your stitches through the felt only so they can’t be seen from the front.

HOW TO MAKE FLORAL BUNTING

Step one Tie a loop at each end of the grey string, then place your felt flowers and circles evenly along the length, approx. 3cm apart. Step two Sew them all into in place by oversewing through the string and the back of the felt or denim. Make sure you work your stitches through the string so the flowers and circles don’t move and take care that your stitches can’t be seen from the front.