Day Four: Fabric Brooches

On the Fourth Day of Sewing…

Sometimes you just want to take a break from the sewing machine- After sewing all of those infinity scarves yesterday, we thought we would switch gears and do a little hand work today. We love projects that we can do while curled up on the couch with a cup of tea, while watching a favorite TV show. These fabric brooches, not only make great gifts, but can be done entirely by hand!

This project is a great way to use up some of your left over fabric or scraps from previous creations. If you want to add some new fabrics, you only need a 1/4 yard or so. The fun part about making these, is experimenting with different layers and textures. Try new fabrics, new combination and even mix in some other textures, like lace. Add a special button, beads or other accent to finish the look.

To make these fun little accessories all you need is a variety of fabrics, a few unique buttons, cutting tools and a needle and thread. In the following photos we used a lace fused knit from the shop- perfect texture for the “petals” on these brooches. We also used one of our favorite hand sewing tools… self-threading needles! Not only are they great for projects like this but we also love using them when tying off threads on our garments.

Here are the basic steps for creating these stunning brooches and then you can experiment with making changes here and there!

First, we cut our fabric into five 5″ squares. These squares can really be any size you like. You could do one layer with 5″ and then another layer with 3″ squares. Don’t be scared to try something and see how it looks. We find ourselves assembling and disassembling quite a few pins to see what we like best.

Next, we folded each square in half, then in half again and then in half again giving us a triangle that looks something like this:

Using a pair of very sharp scissors and holding the center point, round the top corner making a petal shape. Then, with our needle and thread, we partially unfolded the petal and refolded it so it was more like an accordion and stitched through all the layers at the center point.

Repeat these steps for all of your fabric squares and shape the threaded petals into your flower. If you like the desired fullness for that layer, stitch all of the petals together at the center and tie off your thread to secure them in place. If you want a bit more fullness, add a few more petals. We decided we liked how our brooch was looking and stayed with just the five petals.

Now our favorite part… adding layers. One of our favorite ways to do this is with yo-yo’s or gathered fabric circles. They are so easy to make- just a fabric circle, gathered at the edge and pulled tight- and they add a great texture and depth to projects like this. Finish it off with a button in the middle, a pin on the back and you have a gorgeous brooch!

We made a couple other brooches as well with some other fabric choices. The first one is denim with a lace circle, chambray yo-yo and finished with a button. And the second is a thick, sparkly sweater knit that didn’t need any additional layers just a beautiful button for the middle- this one is our favorite, but the photos just don’t quite do it justice!

Now time for you to get those creative juices flowing and create your own stunning brooches. Don’t forget to make one for yourself and wear it to some of your holiday events this season. You are sure to have people asking you one of our favorite questions- “Where did you buy that?”

Happy Sewing!

P.S. December 4th Only! Save 20% on select bottom weights and Self Threading Needles are just $4.00 Shop Here