With large flowers being all the rage as fashion accessories, I thought it was time to dress up the fall table too! Can't you imagine a long table with a flower like this at each place setting? I originally set out to make napkin rings, but then I realized that one really needn't bother.....just place the flower on top of your nicely folded napkin! And then if you want to use them for another project (like a wreath or gift toppers, or fashion accessories or just about anything...) after the party is over, so they're all ready to go! Creative re-use is always good in my opinion.
Before I tell you how I made these, I should share with you the inspiration for this project. JD, the crochet blogger over at craftgossip.com, put me up to it! That's right, an outright challenge so to speak, to crochet edging on felt flowers, an idea she didn't have time to play with. Now I of course don't have the time either, but I love a good challenge, and so there I was at 11:30 pm one night crocheting in bed! She thought I should crochet around some of the flowers from my felt bouquet, here, but after trying one rose, I decided that it would really work the best with a flower constructed just a little differently. Here's a closeup for you:
You'll Need:
- felt
- yarn, I used baby weight cotton
- a large needle
- a glue gun
How To:
- Cut out six five-petaled flowers, and one small circle from felt. Determine the size of the flower by making it roughly the size (when it lies flat) that you'd like your assembled flower to be. It's best to make a template and make identical flowers, but it really doesn't matter too much, as you can see, since I cut these out in bed with no template.
- Embroider a blanket stitch around the edge of one of the flowers, and then crochet an edging, by first crocheting one round of single crochet, and then the edging stitch of your choice. In this photo I used pico stitch, while in the flower above I used the scallop stitch.
- Now, with your glue gun fired up, fold each flower in half and in half again, cut off the tip and glue to the outside of your felt circle. Continue in this manner with the remaining four flowers to fill the edge of the circle.
- For the center of the flower, fold your crocheted edge flower in half, and then roll it horizontally, jelly roll style. I found this gives the best results, but you can certainly try something else! Hot glue your rolled flower into the center, and voila!
- By the way, though the crocheted edging adds a certain elegance, one can certainly omit that step. I have seen tutorials for this type of flower in two places, this technique was directly inspired by the post over at Jones Design Company, while one can make a very similar flower with slightly different technique from Shad and Lizzie.
Yes, I know, I didn't show you what the pink flower looks like assembled....honestly it's just a bit on the frilly pink side for my taste, so when I find a use for it I'll certainly share the results!
