Fabric Flowers - Kanzashi Flower Tutorial

Fabric Flowers are everywhere! You can see them on stylist hats, jackets, dresses or even shoes. It is really eye catching. They may look intimidating to do-it-yourself but they are actually quick and easy to craft. You can even tailor them to suit your fashion style. And Yes! They are  Fun-To-Wear.

This medium size Fabric Flowers is a great embellishments for Head Huggers or hair accesory. It is made out of 6 petal for each flower. It is a great project for those small scraps of fabrics. I used the Kanzashi  technique for the center flower. Kanzashi is a Japanese craft which involves folding pieces of cloth into flower petals. It was like an Origami hair ornaments. 

These fabric flowers are so adorable and it is so fun to make. I will finalized this other   tutorial and template and will be posting soon. Meantime, please take a look of the Kanzashi Technique Tutorial. This is very easy to make so please give it a try and let me know how it goes. Have fun! 

Step-By-Step Instructions: Round Kanzashi Petal Tutorial

This is the simplest design in the Kanzashi In Bloom book but when you mix and match this petal design with the other style like Pointed or Pleated petals, you can certainly create variety of flowers. In this tutorial, I've pressed the fabric with an iron for almost every fold to create an extra-sharp-looking petal. If you want to end up with a slightly softer look, you can omit the ironing step. 

Materials:


3" x 3" fabrics (8-10 pieces)
Scissor
Needle
Thread
Pins

1. Begin with a 3" x 3" square fabric, you can go larger square if you want.
2. Fold the square in half diagonally, make sure the  right side of the fabric is facing out. 
3. Take the right-hand corner and fold it down to meet the bottom corner. 
4. Do the same thing with the left-hand corner. Press the fold with your fingers. 

5.  Flip the whole piece, at this time you are looking at the back.

6. Take the left-hand corner and fold it in to meet the center. press the fold with your fingers. 

7. Repeat with the right-hand corner. Press fold with your fingers. The two corners should meet in the center but not overlap              .

8.  Fold the piece in half, toward you, making sure that the two corners are inside the fold. This is the back   part of the petal.

9. Turn the petal over, secure it with pins. This is how you hold your petal's shape until you are ready to assemble them into a flower

10. Trim the base of your petal, as shown. Cut straight across the petal, starting at the lowest point of the diagonal raw edge. 

11.Assemble your petals and arrange them to the look you want to achieve.

12. Thread your needle with double thread. Pick up the first petal, pinch base firmly together so it would not unfold. Poke through the base leaving 1/8" away from the raw edge.

13. Pull the thread through the petal, leaving 4" tail hanging loose. String all the other petals, they should be all strung together side-by-side on the thread, facing the same way.

14. Cut the leading end of the thread to remove the needle. Tie the two ends of the thread in a surgeon's knot.

15.Taking one of the thread in each hand, pull the surgeon's knot to tighten it. Be careful not to pull the knot too tight.  The flower should have a small hole in the center, with the petals arranged comfortably around it. Pull the loose ends of the thread toward the center of the flower and cut them close.

16. You can now decorate the center of your Kanzashi Flower. In this photo, I used a 2" x 2" square for the layer center.

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