Multiflora - a versatile floral brooch tutorial

I love this fabric. I wish I brought more of it. If I buy fabric without a purpose in mind, I normally buy 60 cm - enough to make a pair of pants or a dress for either girl. This is the fabric I just used to trim the top to match Rainbow's ice cream pants. It was initially used for a pair of pants (first for Rainbow but now worn by Moonshine) with matching applique top . That t-shirt like many of Rainbow's tops was too stained to hand down. Two contributing factors

• Rainbow's favourite food as a baby was bolognese and she ate an awful lot of it. Actually at one point that was practically all she would eat.
• Neither of my girls particularly like to be spoon fed. Moonshine wont even open her mouth unless she's holding the spoon (usually with her hand over the food). So from an early age Rainbow fed herself. It was a disgusting affair that no bib could contain. Thankfully most of that stage was over summer so at least there wasn't long sleeves to contend with and at dinner time I'd often take her shirt off before dinner and pop her straight in the bath afterwards. (The upside now Rainbow is a hearty and independent eater.)

The Idea

With this in mind I started making a fabric flower to sew on a t-shirt to go with Rainbow's ice-cream pants. I had made the petals and pinned them onto the shirt when I thought "What if I made it as a brooch?" A brooch also has the advantage of being able to be worn in many ways and by either girl (or me)
So here it is

worn on a t-shirt (with those pants) No smile today, Moonshine.

pinned on a skirt

pinned on a hair lacky
or on a head band or on a hat.
I'm also fancying the idea of a purple one for me to wear under the bust of a v-neck top I have but will have to raid Mum's scraps.

The Materials

• fabric scraps - I used three different fabrics for the orange flower and two for the pink flower but would easily work with one fabric. I used fabrics with similar colours but you could used any fabrics that look good together.
• co-ordinated thread a brooch pin (I used a safety pin as it was on hand)
• a matching button - plastic is fine but I covered my using this tutorial http://www.craftpudding.com/2007/06/covered-button-tutorial.html (This is really easy and fun! Trust me

The Process

I used a 1/8" seam allowance.

1. Cut out 5 large petals and 5 small petals out of one piece of fabric. Pin these to another piece of fabric right sides together. Don't cut out yet as the big fabric is easier to manoeuvre under the machine foot. 2. Sew around the curve of each petal starting and ending with a few back stitches. Don't close the bottom (straight) edge.

3. Cut out the petals and turn right side out. You could iron it. I simply rub the edges between my thumb and fore finger to help it sit nicely.

4. Machine baste (largest straight stitch + low thread tension) along the bottom (straight) edge.

5. Pull the bobbin thread tight. Then tie off the threads at each end.

6. Cut a small circle of fabric to form the brooch's back. Pin it right sides together to the other fabric. Sew it together, starting and ending with a few back stitches and leaving an opening.

7. Turn it right side out. Pin the opening closed and top stitch around the circle.

8. Pin the large petals onto the circle so they overlap and the gathered ends meet in the middle.
Sew in place. I used a zig zag stitch.
This is what it looks like from underneath.
9. Pin the small petals on top as for the big ones. For this flower I placed the little petals between the big ones. For the orange flower I placed them directly on top. I'm not sure whether one looks better than the other. Sew.

10. Sew a button on top to cover gathering. Sew a brooch pin underneath.

I'd love to see any you make.