Birdsong Bows - Sew · PDF fileCongratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant...

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Birdsong Bows The Annabelle Flower/Brooch By Deanna D. McCool

Transcript of Birdsong Bows - Sew · PDF fileCongratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant...

Page 1: Birdsong Bows - Sew · PDF fileCongratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant fabric or ribbon flower ... Please visit the shop at www ... McCool and Birdsong Bows and

Birdsong BowsThe Annabelle Flower/Brooch

By Deanna D. McCool

Page 2: Birdsong Bows - Sew · PDF fileCongratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant fabric or ribbon flower ... Please visit the shop at www ... McCool and Birdsong Bows and

Congratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant fabric or ribbon flower accessory! In this e-book, you’ll learn how to make this flower style in either fabric or ribbon, and how to mount it to either a clip or elegant headband for babies, older girls, and women. With just a bit of practice, you’ll be able to move easily through each step. This fabric/ribbon flower has been designed with beginners in mind! If you can thread a needle, you can easily make these. I show these methods first out of fabric, and in Section VI, I give tips and sizes for using ribbon.

I highly recommend reading through this instruction manual first, before jumping in and buying supplies or starting your project. That way, there are no surprises as you begin.

Please note: This project includes the application of a button. Children under age 3 should wear these flowers ONLY under direct adult supervision, as in a photography session. Buttons represent a choking hazard and would be best used on accessories for children older than 3.

Thank you for purchasing these instructions! Please visit the shop at www.birdsongpatterns.com and www.birdsongbows.etsy.com for more tutorials and inspiration, and contact me at [email protected] if you have questions!

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Table of ContentsI. Supplies ............................................................................................................................ 2

II. Sewing the four-petal flower ............................................................................................. 4

III. Sewing the three-petal flower ........................................................................................... 7

IV. Sewing the two-layer topper flower ................................................................................... 8

V. Putting the layered flower all together ............................................................................. 10

VI. Creating the flower out of ribbon...................................................................................... 12

VII. Mounting your flower to clips and headbands.................................................................. 14

VIII. Supplier list ......................................... ........................................................................... 17

Photos and text © Deanna D. McCool and Birdsong Bows and Patterns 2011. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, shared or transmitted in any form without expressed written permission of the author. Subject to all international copyright laws. Designs from this pattern may be sold in small quantities by home-based crafters. Please indicate that they’re made with a Birdsong pattern in any descriptive materials.

Special thanks to Kim Timothy of Boutique by Design for creating the graphics for this manual, and to Christa of A Hope and A Wish Photography for the beautiful cover photo. Also, thanks to my husband, Brad McCool, for assisting me with the layout, and my daughter, Natalia, for modeling for me!

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I. SuppliesThe following (Fig. 1) can be purchased at your local fabric or craft store, or through several different online retailers - see Section VIII for a supplier’s list.

For fabric flowers:

1. 2 or 3 “fat quarters” of fabric in different colors; two for the flower and green for the leaves (if desired). You can use regular cottons, but this project looks especially nice with dupioni silks, two-toned (ombre) silks, and satins. This amount of fabric will allow you to have plenty of material left over.

2. Sewing needle and matching thread3. A cutting tool. Preferred: A cutting mat with 45-degree angle marks, rotary cutter and acrylic ruler.

However, you can also use scissors, a marking device and a regular ruler to measure and cut.4. Iron and ironing board5. Felt for project backing6. Alligator/pinch clip or another style of hair clip (if using as a hair accessory clip)7. Fold-over elastic for the baby headband, or a hard wire, plastic or thread-wrapped headband for

older girls/women (if using as headband)8. Lighter or wood-burning tool for searing the edges of the fold-over elastic (if using)9. Hot glue gun and hot glue10. Fancy decorative button for the center of the flower

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Fig. 1

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For ribbon flowers:

Almost all of the above,* except swap out #1 for the following three items:1. 1 yd ( 0.9 m) of 7/8” wide unwired satin or French wired satin in green for leaves. You’ll take the

wire out if using French wired satin. I highly recommend the two-tone (ombre) French-wired satin for this project, because of the richness and beauty of the colors! There are also some pretty silk ribbons on the market.

2. 1 yd (0.9 m) of 1 1/2” wide French wired satin (or unwired satin or silk) in one or two colors for the flowers. Again, I recommend the two-tone (ombre) French-wired satin for this project.

3. Optional: 1 yd (0.9 m) of 7/8” wide satin in a matching petal color if you want to layer your flower with a two- or three-petal topper layer.

*You should not need the iron/ironing board for ribbon flowers.

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II. Sewing the four-petal flowerThe four-petal flower can be used alone, or as a base for a layered “fantasy” flower. I’m using it here as a base layer, and making it in green so it simulates leaves (I show it in pink on my cutting mat, since green would blend too much for photography purposes).

Supplies needed: Fabric, needle, matching thread, cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic ruler OR scissors and ruler. In the following steps I’ve stitched in non-matching thread to make it easier for you to see.

Instructions

1. Press your fabric well with your iron.

2. Cut your fabric into 4 pieces, each 6 in. long by 3 in. wide (15.2 cm x 7.6 cm). You can do this quickly by cutting it first into 3 in. strips, and then cross-cutting them to 6 in. long pieces (Fig. 2).

3. Fold each piece in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 2

Fig. 3

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4. Cut one end at a 45-degree angle, starting at the corner of the folded edge. You’ll want to make sure that the folded edge is the long side. I cut all of them on my rotary mat, placing each strip on the 45-degree angle and making a single “slice” across all of them (Figs. 4 and 5). (Note: The folded edge is along the bottom.)

5. Flip your strip around and cut the other side at the same 45-degree angle - making sure the folded edge is the long side (Fig. 6). (Note: The folded edge is still along the bottom.)

6. Arrange your strips in a square, with folded edges along the inside and the raw-angled cuts aligned (Fig. 7).

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Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6Fig. 7

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7. Using a running stitch (in/out, in/out) start at one of the folded edge corners, and stitch all four pieces together along the outside, “raw” edges (Fig. 8).

8. Pull your thread to gather your fabric. Note that the gathered edge pulls to the inside, with the folded edge forming the petals along the outside. Tie off your thread and snip it (Fig. 9).

9. You have a 4-petal flower! In this case, it’s a base layer representing leaves (Fig. 10).

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Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

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III. Sewing the three-petal flowerThe three-petal flower can be used alone, or as the first layer of the actual flower (resting on top of the leaf layer).

Supplies needed: Two colors of fabric, needle, matching thread, cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic ruler OR scissors and ruler. In the following steps I’ve stitched in non-matching thread to make it easier for you to see.

Instructions

1. Complete steps 1-5 in Section II, EXCEPT use only 3 strips instead of 4.

2. Cut two strips of one color, and one of another color.

Tip: If you’d like a smaller flower, cut your strips to 2 in. wide by 4 in. long (5.1 cm by 10.2 cm).

3. Arrange your strips in a horseshoe shape (or an upside-down “U”) with folded edges along the inside. Make sure the raw angles align. I use two of the same color along the sides, and a different one along the top.

4. Using a running stitch (in/out, in/out), start at one of the folded edge corners, and stitch all three pieces together along the outside, “raw” edges (Fig. 11).

5. Pull your thread to gather your fabric (Fig. 12).

6. Stitch the edges together, tie off your thread and snip it.

7. Admire your 3-petal flower! This will be the first flower layer above your “leaves,” or you can use it alone as an embellishment (Fig. 13).

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Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

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IV. Sewing the two-petal topper flowerThis will be the top layer of your fantasy flower.

Supplies needed: Two colors of fabric, needle, matching thread, cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic ruler OR scissors and ruler. In the following steps I’ve stitched in non-matching thread to make it easier for you to see.

Instructions

1. Complete steps 1-5 in Section II, EXCEPT use only 2 strips, each in a different color, AND cut each one to 2 in. wide by 4 in. long (5.1 cm by 10.2 cm). This top layer will be smaller than the others (Fig. 14).

2. Arrange your strips in a V, with the folded edges on the inside of the V and the raw, angled edges matching along the bottom of the V (Fig. 15).

3. Beginning at the top of the V, at the folded edge, use a running stitch and stitch both pieces together along the outside, “raw” edges (Fig. 16).

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Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

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4. Pull your thread to gather your fabric (Fig. 17).

5. Stitch the edges together, tie off your thread and snip it.

6. You’ve got a 2-petal topper (Fig. 18)!

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Fig. 17

Fig. 18

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V. Putting the layered flower all togetherYou’ll be stitching your layered flower onto a base of fabric, and adding a final layer of felt for stability.

Supplies needed: The same fabric as your bottom layer, needle, matching thread, scissors, decorative button, felt, hot glue gun and glue stick.

Instructions

1. Cut your fabric into a 3-in. by 3-in. (7.6 cm) square (Fig. 19).

2. Stitch your bottom layer (in this case, my leaf layer) to the square of fabric in the center. I take running stitches around the center a couple of times (Fig. 20).

3. Stitch your 3-petal flower to the top (Fig. 21).

4. Stitch your 2-petal topper on top, angling it so that the colors are resting on the opposite color on the 3-petal layer (Fig. 22).

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Fig. 19

Fig. 20

Fig. 21Fig. 22

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5. Stitch your decorative button to the center (Fig. 23).

6. Trim the excess fabric from the back, leaving just a circle of fabric where you’ve stitched (Fig. 24).

7. Cut a circle of felt to cover the center bottom, and hot-glue it in place (Fig. 25).

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Fig. 23

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

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VI. Creating the flower out of ribbonSometimes you’d like a more dainty flower, or maybe you just have a love for ribbon! Here I’ll show you how to scale down your project to make it suitable for ribbon work.

Supplies: 1 1/2” wide ribbon, either wired or unwired, in one or two colors; 7/8” wide ribbon, either wired or unwired, in green; scissors, needle, matching thread, and decorative button.

Instructions

1. Cut 4 pieces of 1 1/2” wired or unwired ribbon to 4 in (10.2 cm) long.

2. If wired, remove wires from both sides.

3. Follow steps 4-8 in Section II. You won’t need to fold your ribbon in half, as you would with fabric, since ribbon doesn’t have a raw edge.

Tip: Since there’s no fold, make sure the long sides of the ribbon are toward the inside of your square (Fig. 26).

4. Admire your flower (Fig. 27).

5. Cut 2 pieces of 7/8” wired or unwired green ribbon to 6 in (15.2 cm) long.

6. If wired, remove wires from both sides.

7. Follow steps 2-5 in Section IV. You won’t need to fold your ribbon in half, as you would with fabric.

Tip: Since there’s no fold, make sure the long sides of the ribbon are toward the inside of your V (Fig. 28).

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Fig. 26

Fig. 27

Fig. 28

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8. Sew your leaves to the back of the flower, allowing a portion of the leaves to be seen from the front. Overlap the back center hole of the flower with the leaf petals, so you can use this as a “base” to sew on your button without using backing fabric (Fig. 29).

9. Sew on your button to the center of the flower (Fig. 30).

Tip: If you feel your flower or button is heavy, you may sew it to base fabric as in Section V.

Variation:Add a 2-petal topper to your flower by cutting two strips of 7/8” ribbon to 4 in. (10.2cm) wide and add it to the top of your 4-petal base!

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Fig. 29

Fig. 30

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VII. Mounting your flower to clips and headbandsSupplies needed for clip: Completed fantasy flower, pinch clip/barrette, hot glue gun and glue sticks. If preferred, you can “line” your clip using 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm) of 3/8” grosgrain ribbon.

Supplies needed for headband: Fold-over elastic (for baby/toddler headband) OR hard plastic/wire/thread wrapped headband for older girl/adult headband, wood burning tool or lighter, scissors, needle, matching thread.

Instructions for mounting to a clip

1. Hot-glue the clip to the felt on the back of your project - that’s it (Fig. 31)!

Instructions for mounting to a headband (for babies/toddlers)

1. If you’ve got your child available, measure her head and cut your elastic 1-2 in. (2.5-5 cm) smaller. This is very stretchy elastic, so use your judgment.

2. If you do not have a child available or you’re making these to sell, cut your fold-over elastic to the size indicated in the chart below.

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Fig. 31

Newborn 12-13 in. (30.5-33 cm)3 - 6 months 13-15 in. (33-38 cm)6-12 months 15-16 in. (38-40.6 cm)

1-13 years 17 in. (43 cm)13+ years 18 in. (46 cm)

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3. Heat seal the ends of the elastic, so they don’t fray. To do this using a wood-burning tool: Turn on the tool, wait for it to heat up, and then rub the edge of the tool over both edges of the elastic (Fig. 32).

4. Sew both edges together in a circle, using a whipstitch (Fig. 33).

5. Attach your finished floral piece to the side of the headband with the seam. For larger, fabric bows, stitch in three places on each side of the elastic, giving the elastic a bit of “slack” between each section so it can still stretch (Fig. 34). I show it here in non-matching thread, but you’ll want to use matching thread for neatness’ sake. For the smaller, ribbon flower, just stitch in the center on both sides of the elastic.

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Fig. 32

Fig. 33

Fig. 34

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6. For the baby/toddler headbands, I do not sew another piece of felt to the back. It’s comfy for the baby either way, and when she’s done wearing it on the stretchy headband, it can be removed at a later time and used as a brooch or barrette.

7. You’re finished (Fig. 35)!

Alternate application:

If you’d like to attach the fabric fantasy flower to a hard wire/plastic/thread-covered headband for older girls and women, cut another piece of felt to match the one on the bottom of your floral piece. You will probably have to trace it from your finished piece. Apply hot glue to the headband, about 3 in. (7.6 cm) up from the bottom of one side. Apply your finished flower project. Hot-glue the second piece of felt to the bottom of the headband, matching it to the top piece. Wear, and enjoy!

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Fig. 35

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VIII. Supplier ListIn addition to big-box craft retailers, a reliable source to purchase satin ribbon and clips is The Ribbon Retreat, http://www.theribbonretreat.com .

For this project I would also urge you to look beyond craft ribbon sources and check out other sources for vintage, vintage-inspired, French-wired and ombre (two-toned) ribbons in silks and satins. The flowers look beautiful with these more delicate ribbons, and they’re easier to sew.

Some sources for these include:● The Store on the Corner, http://www.christenbrown.com/supplies/index.html ● Nicholas Kniel http://www.nicholaskniel.com

Etsy also has a couple of nice shops for silk and french-wire ribbon:● Evertales: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Evertales● The Fairy Davis Paperie: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FairyDavisPaperie

For fold-over elastic, there are also several places to purchase, but I’ve had great success with Elastic By the Yard, on Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElasticByTheYard .

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