Fabric Flowers Tutorial

These fabric flowers require just a handful of supplies, most of which you are likely to have on hand.

Fabric: Any fabric you have on hand will work I used Jacquard's paper-backed cotton squares, which are especially easy to cut and fold. Remnants and scraps are also ideal for this project.

Wine Cork: A real cork will work better than a synthetic cork, since you will be cutting it in to smaller pieces.

Powerful Glue or Adhesive: Jacquard's Lumiere 3D Clear is perfect for this. You can also use colored Lumiere 3D for an accent color, or to add dimensional embellishments.

Tools: Scissors, craft knife, and an iron (optional).

First, take your cork and carefully cut off both ends over a protected surface. Be sure to remove any stained, or visibly damaged portions. Then, cut the remaining cork in to approximately 1/8" slices. A slow sawing motion works best.

Next, cut your fabric into strips, measuring approximately 1" wide and 3" deep. You will need at least 8 strips per flower.

Once you have your strips ready, stack up to four strips of fabric, and cut out your petals. Stack fewer petals for thicker fabrics. You may want to find or create a petal template to use as a guide. For tracing your petals before cutting, you might want to use an Auto Fade Pen. The blue ink in the pen magically disappears with a little bit of water, so it makes for a great tool whenever you are working on fabric, especially when you need to trace or sketch. For a more dimensional flower petal, fold each petal in half length-wise with a sharp crease.

Helpful Hint: By using the paper backed fabric, my creases held their fold lines even after I removed the paper. No iron necessary! If you are not using paper backed fabric, you can achieve the same effect by ironing your petals in a folded position.

To assemble the flowers, take a cork circle and put the front side down. Next, put a dab of adhesive in the center, and affix the first four petals, evenly spaced. You should have one petal every 90 degrees. Continue to add adhesive as needed. Add your second row of petals, offset by 45 degrees so that they center between each of the first four petals. For even more dimension, continue to add petals. Keep in mind that the more layers of fabric you add, the longer they will take to dry. I used a small scrap of fabric to cover the remaining exposed adhesive on the back of each flower before turning them over to see the final result. The Lumiere 3D stays wet long enough to allow you to make small adjustments to the petal spacing once you get everything in place.

Once you have your ideal spacing, turn the flowers face down, and allow to dry completely. Once the adhesive has dried, consider painting or embellishing the flowers to match your decor. Any of Jacquard's paints will look beautiful on your flowers or cork! String several together for a gorgeous garland, or add wire stems for beautiful centerpiece. As you can see above, I used my flowers to decorate my holiday wreath this year. The options are endless!

Update (12:50pm): The Lumiere 3D Clear Press Release is now available online!