Sometimes you want big and bold. Sometimes you want small and delicate.
1. You will need: 1/2" wide ribbon for flowers (Allow 6" per flower, more for wider ribbon). 1" wide ribbon for leaves. Thread to tone (NB it doesn't need to be a very close match). Seed beads OR embroidery silk in contrasting colour. Scrap of fabric. Scrap of backing fabric (something stiff like tapestry canvas). Ruler. Needle. Safety pin or brooch pin. Small sharp scissors. And pins, I forgot to get the pins in the group shot. And a little scrap of felt, I forgot to include that too. If you have a hot glue gun, I'm sure you could use it for steps 11, 13 and 14. But I don't have one.
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2. First make the flowers. I'm using red thread so you can see where I'm sewing but you obviously will use a thread to tone with your ribbon. Cut a 5-6" length of ribbon, and thread your needle. Secure the thread at one end of the ribbon with a few small stitches. Make a line of running stitches that make 4 continuous 'U' shapes along the length of the ribbon like this:
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3. Then, carefully pull the loose end of your thread and 'ziiiiip' gather all the stitches and you end up with a little flower with four petals. Arrange the petals so that the raw edges of the ribbon are at the back of the flower, and secure the whole lot with a few big stitches.
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4. Sew a little cluster of seed beads in the centre of the right side of the flower. Or instead you could make french knots with embroidery silk.
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5. Make a few more flowers. As a rule of thumb, groups generally look more natural when they are of odd numbers rather than even.
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6. Here's how to make the leaves. The first one is a bit fiddly but you will quickly get the hang. First thread your needle with green thread. Cut a short length of ribbon (about 2" of 1" wide ribbon) and secure the thread to the centre of one long edge, using a few small stitches. Fold both cut edges down parallel to the edge of the ribbon so that you have a triangle like this. The point of the triangle is on the opposite edge of the ribbon to where you have secured your thread.
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7. Next, fold the two bottom points of the triangle into the centre again, like this:
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8. Holding all your pleats in place, pick up your needle which is still hanging from the back of your leaf, and sew through from back to front, piercing all the layers of ribbon. Pinch the stem end (where the stitch is) of the leaf and wrap the thread tightly round a few times, then fasten off the thread with a couple of small stitches. Make some more leaves.
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9. Now start to compose the brooch. Put your scrap of material over your canvas. I pinned them together.
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10. Then turn them right side up and play until you find an arrangement you like. The important thing is to squeeze them in so they are really close together, that way the flowers will cover over those messy leaf ends and there will be hardly any background showing through. When you've settled on a grouping, lift off the flowers and pin the leaves down.
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11. Sew the leaves in place through all the layers of fabric, close to the stems. Once they're all sewn down, pin the flowers in place and then sew them down too. If you sew the leaves through their 'stems' and the flowers through their centres, your brooch will have a more natural, 3D look and you will be able to mess with the leaves and the petals until they are just right. Try and get the centres of the flowers over the messy leaf ends. Don't worry about the stitching on the back of the brooch.
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12. Nearly there! Don't pull my favourite trick and stop when the fun part is done and never finish your project! The next thing to do is trim the backing fabric to a small rectangle. Use that messy stitching on the back as a guide to the size. Basically you want it to be pretty much as small as it can go without going less than about 1/8" from your stitches. Be careful not to cut anything except the backing fabric! When you've done that, cut the other layer of fabric so that it is about 1/4" bigger than the backing fabric all round. Be extra careful not to cut anything except the fabric!
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13. Fold down the fabric all the way around the backing fabric and sew in place.
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14. You could skip this last bit if you're pushed for time (crafting to a deadline!) but it's nice to neaten it up by adding a little square of felt to the back. Cut it to size and sew in place with neat stitches, then sew on the brooch pin or safety pin.
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There it is!
