Through the Looking Glass: Felt Flower Bouquet Tutorial.

 I come from a long line of talented women, my mother made us Halloween costumes for years, and my grandmother is a master quilter. Who has dedicated a large majority of her life to knitting, quilting, sewing and a multitude of other artistic talents. I wanted to honor them in my own wedding by creating a bouquet out of felted flowers. it might not be for everyone but i enjoy sitting down at the end of the night and creating a single flower which will eventually end up in a bouquet i am estimating will be about 40 flowers.

 It is important to have a well stocked sewing basket before you start. Have a few different colors of felt so you can have some variety in what you are creating. Best part is it does not have to cost you lots of $, just cost you in some time. As my wedding is a year and a bit away Time is something i have lots of.

 Start with cutting your basic shapes, in this case three circles. Then choose some thread either in a similar color or choose something with contrast.

 Next: you will stitch the first layer of felt to the base of your 'flower" I am using a simple stitch, but you could get as creative as you would like.

 Next: stitch on your top layer of the flower, (this would be the red layer) and make sure they are of equal distance on each side.

 As you can see in this photo every second stitch on the tan layer i am stitching through the first and second layer to create a 'petal' look. You can see one side is unfinished and one is completed. Petals can be placed closer and farther apart but i have found that two stitches per petal makes for the nicest fold.

 To make your flowers all unique and special, especially to create an over all visually interesting bouquet collect some vintage buttons, some crystals, and other things to make your flowers shine. 

At this point i roughly have 15 flowers made, here is a sneak peak of some different designs. I think the best way to make a bouquet is to try some different methods and see which flowers work for you. My bouquet will be stritcly fall colors, tones or white, tan, brown, dark browns and black.