Good morning! Thanks for coming back today for the details on how to put this together. I was just overcome with fatigue last night and had to stop.
For those of you just joining us today, the original post is here. Here’s the finished product:
(click on photos to enlarge)
Fun tidbit: Tsumami kanzashi is the traditional Japanese handcraft of folding fabric flower hair ornaments.
As I said yesterday, I made this from some blog candy fabric and ink I received from Hydrangea Hippo a while back. It included some lovely spring muslin fabrics from Ann Butler Designs and some Colorbox Crafter’s Inks from Clearsnap. I was curious to use these inks for the first time… Would they bleed through the material? Would they stain my stamp? Would they come off on the iron? Would they really be permanent? Could I actually stamp my own fabric?
As Mr. Monk used to say, “Here’s what happened:”
I placed the muslin fabric on a foam stamp pad, inked up my Unity stamp from the March 2014 Kit of the Month (The Reason Someone Smiles) with Colorbox Spiced Plum Crafter’s Ink and stamped the material just like I would a card. Since this stamp is the perfect size for one Kanzashi petal, I stamped 5 (later I found I needed 2 more), which fit perfectly across the ‘fat quarter” of fabric with a little left over. I went ahead and stamped it to give me wiggle room. My edges overlapped a little, but they won’t show on the flower, so that’s ok.
To make the ink permanent, it has to be heat set (I assume without steam).
Being skeptical about the new ink, I put paper towels on top and underneath in case the ink were to come off or bleed through… I was happy to see white paper towels after the first pass! So I continued without the paper towels. There was no heavy bleed through of ink, either:
Yay! So I’m guessing it IS permanent, too. So, now can say I have actually hand stamped my own fabric! Woo-hoo! : )
Now it’s time to gather the materials for the next steps. I’ll try to give you a photo tutorial.
Using a Clover Round Petal Kanzashi Flower Maker, fold the stamped material in half, right sides out. Place the fold of the material along the fold of the plastic pattern, close the pattern and cut around it.
The next part is optional, but I like to run Dritz FrayCheck around the edges.
Since I have two patterns, I usually let one dry a little while I work on the other. I’m too impatient to wait on them to dry completely, tho. : ) The sewing is a cinch! Complete instructions are in the package. The most important thing is to be sure to start on the side that says “START”… otherwise you can’t get it out of the pattern afterward. (Can you guess how I know?!! hahaha!) Thread your needle with any color of thread. I like to use one that matches, but it will barely be seen – if at a -l, so it doesn’t have to match. I also like to use doubled thread for strength. Just push the needle through the hole marked “START” with a “1” beside it, flip it to the side the needle comes out and pull through. Push the needle through hole 2…
… then flip to the other side and pull through…. Eight stitches. and you’re done. Easy peasy! Open the pattern…
…and, while holding the material in one hand, pull the thread taught with the other. It will roll itself into a ball:
Smooth it out into it’s proper shape with your fingers. You may have to fiddle a bit with rolling the back sides and front top edge, but once you get the hang of it, the next petals are easier. You can tell it’s been a while since I did this, as my first petal has an extra little tuck in it that I missed and couldn’t get out later. Good think real life flowers have odd tucks in them, too! : )
Without tying a knot or cutting your thread, repeat the procedure on the next petal and the next until you have the number you want. I had thought I used 5 last time, but I guess I used a heavier material.
You can tell this would have looked skimpy had I closed it there, so I stamped 2 more blocks to make 2 more petals – 7 petals total. (The instructions say 6, but I like odd numbers.) I figure this one fat quarter of fabric can make 3 more flowers, if I choose to use it that way.
Once you finish your last petal, run your needle and thread back through the first petal or two and pull the bunch into a tight circle before knotting it off.
Your flower is now taking shape!
Here’s the back side:
Just a few finishing touches and you’re done!
To cover the unfinished edge in the center, you will either want to sew a button on, or use a pretty brad. This time, I happened to be using a brad. For the back, you will want a round piece of felt that is just over an inch in diameter. Since I’m making this into a pin, I also used an 1 1/4″ pin back.
You might be able to skip some of the following steps, as I tend to be over-cautious. However, I have yet to have any of my friends complaining about theirs falling apart yet. (Maybe they’re just too polite.. hahaha!) And, although I only recommend spot washing these, a couple of times I have accidentally left mine on something that got ran through the wash and, amazingly, the pin came out fine!
I use a little E6000 glue to attach the pin back to the felt. Then I sew it down, too.
Next I put the brad in the center of the flower, then open the tines a little. While holding the brad in place, I use my low temperature hot glue gun and fill the center ‘hole.’
(I set it down to take the pic. Holding it helps me keep it in place) Note: If your brad is metal – it will get HOT! (voice of experience!) If you are using a metal button, same thing! If your button has large holes, the glue might ooze through them and will be hot! (voice of experience, again!) Be careful!!
Make a small ring of glue around the center of your flower. You want this big enough to attach the felt with the pin back, but not to ooze out the sides. I also leave enough room for the final step, which is optional.
Figure out where you want the top of your flower to be. This is not overly important as it can be pinned at any angle when done, but I like to have a general ‘top’ selected. Depending on how you like to use your pins, you may also want to think about which way you want the clasp on your pen back to face. Personally, I like to be looking at the top on the back side and have the clasp to my left. While the glue is still hot, press the felt with the pin back onto the back of the flower.
An optional finishing touch: sew the felt to the flower. Again, it’s not absolutely necessary, but I haven’t had any fall off yet! : ) Plus, I think I gives a finished look to the piece.
I hope this tutorial was helpful. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Have a lovely day!
-D.Ann
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D.Ann's Crafting Whims 