Felt Dahlia (timed and tested)

DIY Mother's Day Corsage: Felt Dahlia Flower Brooch
(REVISED and TESTED by Heather Wilson)
created beautifully by Megan Reardon
all photos by Megan Reardon
see her work HERE
(project takes approximately 32 minutes to complete - that timing is without looking at or reading the instructions)

by Megan Reardon , Posted Apr 23rd 2010 2:00PM

This Mother's Day, make something beautiful for Mom. Credit: Megan Reardon
Wondering about what to make Mom for Mother's Day? I've been thinking about traditional gifts like flower corsages and lockets, and I decided to combine the two. This felt dahlia pin has a secret pocket in the back that can hold a picture or message for your favorite mom. (I omitted the pocket all together)

You'll need:
- scissors
- Fabri-tac adhesive (my fabric glue took overnight to dry and wasn’t consistent with results on different kinds of felt so I stuck with good ole’ hot glue…in miniscule amounts!)
- two sheets craft felt, one for the flower and one in a contrasting color for the back (I used the same color for the back)
- needle and thread (I didn’t use)
- brooch pin (available in the beading section of craft stores)
- a bit of thin cardboard (a cereal box from your recycling bin will be perfect for this)

Credit: Megan Reardon
Also helpful, if you have them:
- pinking sheers
- a rotary cutter, mat and ruler
- a sewing machine

Credit: Megan Reardon (Megan does a beautiful job of dividing up a regular 29 cent sheet of felt from the craft store…I followed her exactly)
We'll be cutting out a bunch individual petals, and above I show what I think is the most efficient way to divide up your sheet of felt. First cut a 3.25 inch diameter circle from your flower color felt. (Do this first to make sure you don't leave yourself too small a scrap at the end.) Then cut three 1.5 inch strips, two 1.25 inch strips and one 1 inch strip of felt.

In the contrasting color (here, the green), cut a 2 inch diameter circle (1 minute to measure and cut) and a 1.25 inch square. Cut a small indent into the square. (I omitted this pocket square)
Finally, cut a 2 inch diameter circle from your cardboard. (1 minute to measure and cut)

Credit: Megan Reardon
Now cut your flower color strips into 1.5, 1.25 and 1 inch squares respectively. If you need more petals you can use the bit of leftover felt to cut more squares. I ended up needing fifteen 1.5 inch petals, thirteen 1.25 inch petals and nine 1 inch petals, you might find you need more or fewer to fill in the flower. (3.5 min. to divide up the felt and cut it into squares)
To form the petals cut each square into a rounded petal shape, with a wide base and a pointed tip as shown above. (don’t worry about being a perfectionist… any tiny imperfections are hidden once you put it all together) (I also cut the pedal shapes two squares at a time to cut down on time) (5 min. 52 sec. to cut the rounded petal shapes)
Put dots of glue (I used the hot glue here) in the lower corners and fold each side over so that they meet in the middle. (11 minutes to glue into petals – with the hot glue)

Credit:: Megan Reardon
This is the most frustrating part of the project -- the glue can take a while to set and if you don't hold the petal shapes in place they will pop open. (this isn’t a problem with the tiny bits of hot glue…just don’t overdo it or you will have a globby goop on your hands) I found this to be true for both the wool felt and the polyester felt I tested. I made a few versions using felt from various sources and found the higher quality wool felt to be a bit thicker, which meant that it took longer to set, but the colors were richer so I was willing to wait. I used a heavy stainless steel skillet to hold my folded petals down while they dried, as shown above. Luckily, the Fabri-tac adhesive won't bond to the metal of the skillet, so you don't have to worry about petals stuck to your pan.

Credit: Megan Reardon
(From this point to the end - 9 minutes and 20 seconds)
While the petals are setting you can prepare the back of the flower. Glue the cardboard circle to the center of the 3.25 inch flower color felt circle. Then dab glue on the overhanging part of the felt and fold it over the edges of the cardboard, wrapping it around to the back. You might need to put a saucepan on top to weigh it down while it sets. This will be the base for the petals, and the folded edges on the back will be covered by your contrasting felt circle at the very end.
(I just cut a circle from the same square of felt and glued it on the back with the pin…ta da!) (Megan’s is more special and I would do just what she did if I was really making a Mother’s Day present…you’ve got to show the Mamma’s some love!) Now grab your contrasting felt square and circle. Position the square at the bottom of the circle and stitch it around three sides to make a small pocket that opens to the side, leaving enough room at the top of the circle to attach the pin. You can put a few small dabs of glue on the pin before you hand stitch it into place at the top of the circle. I used contrasting thread that matched my flower, but you can use whatever thread color you'd like.

Credit: Megan Reardon
When the petals are set, it's time to glue them to the flower color base. Glue the 1.5 inch petals around the edge of the base, positioning them in about 1/4 inch. As you work be sure to snug the base of the petals as close together side by side as you can; the more you can fit on the base, the more dramatic the results. Next, glue a row of the 1.25 inch petals about 1/4 inch further in towards the center of your pin. Do the same with the 1 inch petals, leaving about a 1 inch circle in the middle.

Credit: Megan Reardon
To finish the center of the flower cut a 1 inch circle from the remaining flower color felt using the pinking sheers, or cut a wavy edge with scissors. Also use the pinking sheers to cut a thin strip from the felt; you can cut two strips if you think you'll need them. Glue down the small circle in the center of your flower to cover the ends of the smallest petals. Then curl the thin strip into a tight spiral and glue that to the very center.

Credit: Megan Reardon
All that is left to do is to glue the contrasting colored backing to the back of the flower, covering the back of the cardboard, and find a picture -- or write a little note -- small enough to slip into the secret pocket. Then wrap it up and present it to Mom!