3D Flower Tutorial

1.   I made a 3D Flower Doll Quilt and I was asked to do a tutorial to show how I made them. So here I will show you how to make 3D Flowers and Butterflies my way. This is not necessarily an original idea just something I have picked up over time.
   
   
   These flowers are stylized flowers or flowers that are not true to any particular flower. They end up being whatever they end up like depending on the decisions I make as I work on them.
   
   

   Here is the Doll Quilt I made for the Doll Quilt Swap

   

   
   

   you can see the blue flower is not sewn down. It is only sewn at the center allowing the petals to move freely.

   

   
   

   Here is the Pink flower also sewn only at the center

   

   
   

   The butterflies are sewn down here but the antennae are free moving as I made them out of craft wire. I curled them around a pen to get the wavy look

   

   
   

   This butterfly is sewn down and the antennae are also craft wire,. Because is was so much smaller I used a large plastic embroidery needle to curl the antennae.

   

   

2. Ok now let's look at what it takes to make a flower.
   
   First you cut out a flower shape. The shape can be anything you want it to be.
   
   

   Here you can see how to draw a flower petal. Starting at the top left I drew a curved line, Not hard to do. Then I drew a curved line back down on the right side. The petals don't have to be the same. They should be in the same size reasonably tho.

   

   
   

   Here is my first petal - 2 layers of fabric

   

   
   

   Place the 2 pieces face to face and sew from the bottom edge around the petal til you get back to the bottom. Make sure you leave an opening to turn the petal right side out.

   

   
   

   Here it is turned right side out.

   

   
   

   I tucked the edges of the bottom of the petal in so I would have a smaller end on the petal

   

   
   

   Here you can see the petal with the sides tucked in at the bottom. I sewed across the bottom so it would stay put. Now you can sew around the edge leaving it as it is.

   

   
   

   Or you can pull the tucked in parts back out with a seam ripper for a more rounded look to the bottom. Sorry the pic is so blurry.

   

   
   

   I sewed around the edge with red thread but you could match your thread if you don't want it to show up. Then I sewed down the center and along each side of the line. This creates a look of stamens. I also used French knots at the end of each line, You can use a fabric pen to imitate this if you like or skip it if you don't want it ,

   

   
   

   Here is 3 petals sewn together. I sewed where the petals overlapped. then at the bottom I sewed across to give it some stability so the petals would stay together.

   

   
   

   Here I pulled the two sides apart so I could clip one side for turning it.

   

   
   

   Here I cut two pieces of yellow for the center. Place them face to face and sew all around the edge.

   

   
   

   Here is the center with the opening cut.

   

   
   

   Turn it right side out and sew it onto the flower petals.

   

   
3. 
   

   Okay Now let's look at the long skinny flower petals.
   
   

   Here is the 2 layers of fabric turned face to face and sewn around the edge. I sew off the end and then come back on from the side of the end to get the point.

   

   
   

   I folded the edges into the middle and sewn across the end

   

   
   

   Turn it right side out. I use a turning tool and gently pull the edges of the fabric down over the tool. I sewed a finishing seam around the edge of the petal.

   

   
   

   Here is the petal ready to add to more

   

   
   

   Here is two petals together. ( They look like bunny ears!! LOL )

   

   
   

   I held the two petals together and where they meet I sewed along that line. At first I sewed up towards the top end and then decided that was too much so ended up ripping it out so I had it sewed only about half way up from the bottom.

   

   
   

   Here are three petals sewn together. I almost wished I hadn't had so much fold on the sides at the bottom. They could have been more flat.. You can overlap the petals instead of folding in the bottom edges. They would be more flat that way.

   

   

4. 
   

   Ok now on to the leaves. they are basically just like the petals.
   The stem is a differant treatment.
   
   Here are some leaf shapes. You can fold a paper in half and cut out a leaf similar to cutting out a heart or snowflake.
   
   You can use that cut out to lay it on your fabric and cut out around it to get your shape.
   
   

   Turn it right side out

   

   
   

   Sew around the edge just like we did with the petal. Then sometimes I like to sew down the center for veins. By sewing over the same line of thread you will get a darker more filled in line.

   

   
   

   for the center of this flower I cut a smaller piece of fabric, 2 layers sewn around the edge and turned right side out

   

   
   

   I cut a slit on the back to turn it with

   

   
   

   For the stem I do it differantly. I cut it long and narrow. I fold over each side into the center and iron them to make them stay put

   

   
   

   I fold over one end and iron it.

   

   
   

   Fold one side over the other and put it under t he needle. Backstitch and then sew down the edge of the stem. I made mine about an inch wide to start with but you can make yours any size you want.

   

   
   

   So when you put all the pieces together you have something that looks like this. The yellow center is sewn to the background. The stem and the leaf are sewn down, But the petals are free to move.

   

   
   

   And here is the pink flower, You can make the leaves 3D also if you like. I didn't because I chose to slit the back of them for turning, If you turn them at the bottom instead of using a slit you can sew the leaves on a their base and leave them free to move.

   

   Attached Images