felted flowers

With our very wet and cold weather of late, our daily walks and outdoor adventures have been fewer and shorter.  Our Nature Table, as a result, is looking very sparse and Winter-y but in our hearts we're already dreaming a little bit Spring-y.  I decided, therefore, that the table needed a little brightening up with some "fresh" felt flowers.  I had made a few of these for our wreath during the second week of Advent but what better time to append our bouquet than now when the blossoming of our garden is slowly and delicately revealing its secrets.                         

The blooms I made back in December all fanned out from a central point and didn't overlap so I decided to try something a little different this time around - more like a gardenia or primrose.

I started by cutting a felted wool sweater into petal shapes of various sizes.
(One could use craft felt or wool felt but I have plenty of felted sweater scraps around from previous projects and I like their suppleness and pliancy.)




I folded the smallest petal around itself and stitched it in place with embroidery floss.

I then added petals, one at a time, from smallest to largest.

I wrapped each one around the previous and (rather sloppily) ran random stitches through the bottom of the forming flower to keep the pieces in place.

When the bloom was full enough, I turned it over and pulled the base into a tighter clump by running more stitches through the ends.

I then attached a bit of green felt over this both to suggest a kind of stem and to cover up the sewn clump.







Using the inspiration of the world unfolding around us, a great variety of beautiful flowers may soon adorn not only our table but perhaps some hats and sweaters as well.

These little baubles are so easy to put together. 












I think the construction is even simpler when the petals don't overlap or wind around each other.










And who of us doesn't have jars and baskets full of sweet buttons and beads just waiting for some lovely project to embellish?
(Is that just me?)

Our dear Mother Earth was delighted to find the emerging colors of Spring at her feet.