Handmade Holidays: Fabric Rosettes

I'm back with another crafty holiday idea for you. This my favorite craft project I've made so far--they're so cute! I've seen these fabric rosettes all over the web, but never realized just how easy they were to make. (Not as easy as the tshirt scarf, but still pretty simple). And the possibilities for them are endless! Make jewelry with them. Attach them to an apron or a tote bag. Make pins out of them to dress up a sweater. So much you can do with something so simple! This is my favorite way to use them so far.

Perfect for the fashionista in your life, or to wear to those holiday parties coming up! And they're so easy to create.

I think this is my first real attempt at a full on step-by-step tutorial. So I apologize if the pictures are a little blurry or things don't make total sense. I never realized how hard it was to stop every 30 seconds and take a bunch of pictures! If you need any clarification on anything, leave me a comment or drop me a line and I'll try to help out! Also, pay no attention to the huge fingers, chipped nails, cat hair, and hot glue strings floating around in these pictures..

What you'll need:

*Fabric Quarters (usually 18"x21") - You can find these in the fabric section of the craft store. They're usually with the quilting fabrics. (1 Fabric Quarter makes four 1 1/2-inch rosettes or 8 1-inch rosettes) Or use any scrap or remnant fabric.
*fabric glue and/or a hot glue gun
*iron

The Fabric Quarters are perfect for this project. They're the right size, come in a whole range of fun colors, and the best part--because they come all folded up in a packaged square, you don't even have to measure the fabric. Just cut along the creases! They won't be exactly the same size, but it's close enough. (If you're using scrap fabric instead of Fabric Quarters, you'll cut your strips about 5"x21" each.)

1. With the wrong side of the fabric facing up, place a dot of fabric or hot glue roughly in the middle of the fabric. Place several dots down the length of the fabric. (This will hold your fabric together so it doesn't slip while you're making the rosettes. If you've got skills and can hold it all together on your own, you can skip the glue.)
2. Fold the bottom part up a third of the way, like you're folding a letter. Press down to adhere the glue.

3. Place a few more dots of glue in the middle along the length of the fabric. Fold the top third over the bottom third and press to adhere the glue.
4. Fold the top half of the fabric over. Press with a hot iron to crease. (Ironing should hold it together, so you don't need to place glue on this fold.)

I've seen a lot of tutorials for rosettes that don't use any glue or ironing or anything. They just fold the fabric. I ended up really frustrated when I tried it because my fabric kept slipping and coming unfolded, which left me with a messy, frayed looking rosette. Folding the ends in, gluing them together, and ironing the whole thing made it much easier for me to keep everything neat and gave the rosettes a nicer finished look. But it's completely up to you!

Once you've got your strips made, it's time to make the rosettes! If you're making larger rosettes (bigger than 1-inch wide) use the whole strip. For rosettes an inch or smaller, cut the strip in half before starting.


5. Twist one end of the strip.
6. Fold the end in at the twist.
7. Fold the end over and start to roll the fabric to create the bud of the rose.
8. After you've created the center bud, place a dot of hot glue on the fabric to seal. (Otherwise, one false move and it all unrolls. Trust me..)

A few tips before we really get rolling *haha* :
*Hot glue seems to work better at this stage because it sets a lot faster than fabric glue.
*Make sure to put the dot of glue near the bottom of the fabric so it doesn't squish up and out the top of your rose when you continue rolling.

9. To create the "petals", twist the fabric the same way you did in step #1. (I usually put a dot of glue on the section of fabric right before I make a twist, to secure it.)
10. It'll look a little lumpy, but just keep rolling.

11. Keep rolling, twisting the fabric every so often to create the petals, gluing as you go to keep it together.
12. Roll and twist until you have about a 1 1/2 inches of fabric left. (Or until the rosette is the size you want it to be.)
13. On the underneath side of the rosette, put a bit of hot glue in the center.
14. Fold the last bit of the fabric strip under the rosette and press into the hot glue to seal.

There you have it! An almost done rosette. We'll finish them off tomorrow when we make a bracelet and a necklace with them!