Weddingbee boards

But instead, I posted it in 'Flowers'.  Here's the link if you want to see! 

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/my-diy-fabric-flower-bridesmaid-bouquet-and-bouts

Oh boy.    When I get back to 'it', I'll try to snap some shots and see what I can put together.  In a nutshell though, it's involves using a template for the shapes, cutting out a zillion layers, holding the edges to a candle so that they curl up a bit, and then stitching the layers together with a needle a thread. I used poly satin fabric which I bought from JoAnn's- it's synthetic which is the only type of fabric that will burn ok when placed over heat.

There are 2 types I created.  One looks like a rosette and the other has petals and when stitched together sort of resembles a peony.  For the peony petals, I took apart a silk ranunculus and traced all of its layers on cardstock, pinned to fabric, and cut, cut, cut (I cut 4 layers of the bottom and 1 layer for the rest... the flower ends up having 7-8 layers). For the rosette, I took several different sized circle bases and traced straight onto the fabric... then cut, cut, cut (I cut 4 layers of the largest circle which makes up the bottom, 4 layers of the next size down, and then 2 layers for 2 more sized circles- this flower ends up having about 11-12 layers).  Curling up the edges with a candle is the most time consuming part of the flower... but once you have all that done, stacking the flower layers and stitching together takes no time at all.  (FYI- for the peony, be sure to stitch a few right through the middle of the stack, fold in half, and then stitch a few threads on the edge of the half... this helps it to stand up and look fluffier.)

Finally, for the rosette, we added a bit of bling by hot gluing a sparkly to the middle. 

If you have artificial nails like myself, be prepared for them cracking. Holding the fabric over the candles caused heat to get in touch with them and they are a MESS. :)

Let me know if you have any questions.