Friday, March 16, 2012

DIY: Satin Flower Pins

I came up with this satin flower pin tutorial a year ago, but for some reason I never put it up till now. I was reminded of it when I looked through a bag of fabric scraps and found the teal satin that I had used for this little project so long ago. So anyway, here's the step-by-step process - it's super simple! I apologize in advance if the pictures aren't that great. I had already made the final product so I actually went back and tried to re-document the whole process. So here it is...


All you need is:

1) some satin fabric
2) a needle + thread (or glue gun)
3) a lighter (or candle)
4) a safety pin or hair clip
5) optional: embellishments (buttons, pearl beads, feathers, etc.)

***

STEP 1: Cut the satin fabric into circles of varying sizes. I heard that "crepe-back satin" is a good material for this project.
STEP 2: Use a lighter or candle to singe the edges of the each satin circle. This will prevent the fabric from fraying, and give it a clean edge.
 STEP 3: Stack your satin circles one on top of another (with the smallest circle on the top) and either sew all the circles together with a few stitches in the middle of the circles, or use a glue gun for this process. 

After this, you're basically done making the flower. Now it's time to style your pin with additional embellishments. For this particular flower, I decided to add some feathers and a large glossy button in the middle. 
 STEP 4: (optional) - Glue a leather patch on the back of the flower to hide the tips of the feathers. At this point, you can add a hair clip, a safety pin, or whatever you want for the backing. 
 ...and here it is... the finished product!
 I also made a slightly smaller pin using leftover lace pieces and some broken bits from a gold beaded necklace. 
 Add some braided gold string or some ribbon and your pin could be a headband or a bracelet (for fancy occasions?)...

The possibilities are endless with this project! I do want to warn you though that you should experiment with various types of satin because depending on the fabric, the singed edges of the flower could have different results. 

Oh and side note, I actually ended up thinking up the idea for these flowers because I was sitting on my bed one day, and I started burning the edges of some scrap fabric for no reason. (Pyromaniac much?). But I guess that's how accidental creations come into being... through random experimentation... at least that's how it is for me! =P

1 comment:

  1. i love this! so pretty! maybe we could evolve this into a DIY wedding hairpiece tutorial? :p

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