Tutorial: Rouched Fabric Flower from a T-Shirt

I have a huge pile in my bedroom of old clothing that I don't wear anymore that I am hoping to re purpose. I dug around in my pile and was able to turn this:


into this:

I think my tshirt is looking much cuter as a flower. What do you think???

This little flower is perfect for adding to a cute dress, a purse, a headband, a belt, a gift box... and just about anything else you can think of!

Want to make your own?
Here's how I did it.

First, cut the bottom seam off your shirt.

 Then cut a strip about 1-1/2" wide off the bottom of your shirt.

Grab a scratch piece of felt and cut a small circle. Mine was about 2" in diameter. It does not have to be perfect - as you can see.

Then take your strips and sew a straight stitch {with the largest width you can} down the center of your strip.

 Here's how it should look. Since my shirt is made of stretchy knit, it ruffled a little as I sewed.

 Then grab a hold of the bottom pieces of thread on either side of your strip and scrunch your fabric so that it gathers a little more.

 Make sure you start sewing on the outside edge of your felt circle. Place one end of one of your gathered strips on your felt circle and begin sewing along the gathered stitch in the center of your strip. Turn your felt circle as needed to get all the way around the outside.

When you are ready to start another trip around your felt circle, simple fold over the two side of your strip that has already been sewn so that the next circle you sew INSIDE the one you just finished IS NOT sewn on top of any of the fabric that is already sewn on.

When you reach the end of your first gathered strip, simply back stitch the end. Then grab the new strip and overlap it just a little and start sewing again. Just make sure you don't sew over the fabric that is already sewn on to your felt circle.

 When it starts to get a little too touch - and your fingers are just a little too big for the space they need to fit it - it's time to stop sewing by machine, and finish sewing by hand. {moan, grumble grumble}. To finish off the work on your machine back stitch your last stitch cut your thread and remove it from your machine.

You need to start by trimming off the excess gathered fabric. Depending on the opening you still have left in the center, you want to leave an extra 1-2" of gathered fabric to use.

Then grab your trusty needle and thread and start stitching. Start by threading you needle up through the center of the opening in your felt circle.

Grab a small bit of the next part of your gathered strip of fabric and tack it in place sewing through it and down through your felt circle. Then bring your needle back up the the top of your flower through the center opening in your felt again.

Then use your needle to stitch through the rest of your gathered fabric. Don't sew through your felt, just through the left over fabric strip.

Then stick your needle down the center of your felt circle sewing the rest of your fabric strip down.

Now it's time to close off your hand stitching. There are probably a ba-zillion different ways to do it, but here's how I usually tie it off. I start by sewing through the back layer (in this case the felt).

 Then pull the needle through the felt so that it creates a small loop.

Then take my needle and thread it through the loop.

Pull it tight and ta da! You have just tied off your thread. I usually do it one more time just to add an extra knot in there. Trim your thread and you are done!

Now you have a cute, fully rouched fabric flower just itching for a craft or sewing project to be attached to. If you find that your ruffles are a little wonky, just trim them up a bit.

How would YOU use this flower?
Watch the blog tomorrow for how I used my flower! 

2 comments

  1. You are too creative it makes me sick.. Lol.. Just kidding!! I LOVE IT!! I am at Grammy's and gonna try working some projects of my own on her sewing machine!!!

    <3xojo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jordan Marie- You are too funny! Good luck with your sewing projects! :)
    ~katy

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