I, like so many other women, began my sewing adventures as a small girl, sitting on the floor next to my mother at her sewing machine. She would sew up school dresses for me and I would stitch and stuff her scraps into little pin cushions adorned with the odd stretch of lace and stray buttons.
For Mother's Day, I stitched up this little fabric flower corsage for her using these springy Anna Maria Horner and Heather Bailey prints. I wanted it to be a little 'thank you' for giving me the love of sewing, so many years ago. She still uses my homely old pin cushions, by the way! I guess they hold alot of memories along with her pins!
I thought you might want to stitch up a corsage too! Here's the tutorial...
What you'll need:
Several scraps of fabric, scissors, a fabric pen or pencil, needle and thread,safety pins. You'll use a tea cup as the template for the petals. The one I used has a diameter of 3.5". A wider mouth will yield larger flowers.
Cut out the circles:
Using a fabric pen or pencil, trace the top of the tea cup onto your chosen fabrics. Youl need 6 circles for the carnation, 6 circles for the lily, and 4 for the leaves.
For the lily and the leaves:
1.Pin the pairs of circles together, right sides facing, forming 5 pairs of 2.
2.Sew around each circle using a 1/4" seam, leaving a small space for turning. Trim seam allowance to about 1/8".
3.Using the closed tip of your scissors, turn the circles right side out and press flat.
4.Take the petals you've created for the lily and fold them in half over each other as shown...
Put a few stitches in the base to hold them together.
5.Fold the tops of the petals down a little. It should look something like this...
6.Fold the 2 circles for the leaves into a fan shape and put a few stitches at the base to hold them together.
For the carnation:
1.Clip around the circle edges with pinking shears. This isn't necessary, but it makes the petals look a little more realistic.
2.Place pairs of the circles wrong sides together forming 3 pairs of 2.
3.Fold one pair into fourths and place a stitch at the base. This will become the center of the flower. Fold the other 2 pairs into half circles and place a stitch at the bottom center.
4.Fold the half circles around the center of the flower. Sew through all the layers at the base. What you've created should look something like this...
Assemble the corsage:
Sew the carnation to front of the lily and the leaves to the back of the lily. Place a few stitches here and there if necessary to get the flowers to stay in the shape that you want. You can pin the corsage on using corsage pins or a couple of safety pins.
