With bits of bloom popping up all around the house, I've been itching to make one myself as well! I had some of this lovely grey sheer left over from my Sunshine Clutch featured in the current issue of Stitch magazine (hope to share pics soon!) and thought it just might do the trick. The fringed edge and hand-stitching add just the right amount of un-done beauty to this delicate accessory. This would be the perfect touch to your Easter attire, so let's make one now, shall we?
What you'll need:
An 8" by 60" strip of sheer fabric, contrasting thread and perle cotton, hand sewing needle, a 3.5" or 4" diameter circle of cotton fabric and fusible fleece, a brooch pin
1. Begin by cutting the strip of sheer in half to create 2 4" wide strips of sheer.
2. Place the strips together and sew across the short end creating one long strip. Press that seam open and sew along each side to secure the seam.
3. With contrasting thread and using a very small stitch length, sew a 3/8" to 1/2" inch seam down the length of one side of the sheer strip. The wider you make your seam allowance, the more fringe you'll have adorning the outer edges of the flower.
4. Using a needle, begin to release the horizontally running threads through the top of the seam allowance you've just created. The seam acts as a stay stitch and will prevent the fabric from fraying further. Clip the long released threads when necessary and repeat the process down the length of the sheer.
5. Now go back and sew one additional seam 3/8" from the one you've just created. You actually could sew as many seams down the front of the fabric as you like, but remember we'll also be adding hand-stitching, so it just depends on the look you want, and the amount of time you have on your hands!
6. So now as I said, let's revisit the side of the sheer with our need and perle cotton. Make a running stitch down the length of the sheer, between the machine stitches, with as long or short hand stitches as you wish.
7. Now it's time to gather. Make another running stitch just like the one you made previously only on the bottom side of the sheer, about 1/2" from the edge. Hand gather the fabric as you go until you have a length of gathered sheer that is about 6" in length.
8. Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the fleece to the wrong side of your cotton fabric. I used a teacup to trace my circles. You've seen me do that before, right?
9. Next I added a blanket stitch to the edges of my circle. This step certainly isn't necessary, but I think it adds a nice touch to the back of the brooch, don't you? Click here for a refresher on blanket stitching.
10. Begin hand stitching the length of gathered sheer to the fleece side of the circle, starting about 1" from the edge of the circle. Continue stitching inward in a circular motion until you come to the end of the gathered sheer and the center of the circle. Now sit back with a cup of coffee and have a little fun sculpting your brooch into it's perfectly floral final form by strategically placing little hand stitches with matching thread throughout the folds till the bloom meets with your approval.
11. Hand stitch the brooch pin to the back of the circle. You've just created the perfect little spring accessory! Wear it with everything!
Oh, and it requires no watering, but definitely plenty of sunshine!
