Rolled Fabric Roses Tutorial

These roses are beautiful, however, frustrating at first. I suggest trying them with a cotton-like fabric to get the hang of it before trying them with satin or any kind of "slippery" fabric. They can be made from just about any fabric, I haven't found a type that it doesn't work well with.


First, cut your fabric into a strip about 2 inches wide (I am using 44 inch wide fabric for this, so my strips are 2x44 inches). This can be adjusted depending on your need and how thick/how big around you want your roses to turn out. The thicker your fabric strip, the harder it is to control. NOTE: The thinner your fabric, the more length you will need to get the desired bulk/circumference. You can glue two strips together, end to end, to create a rose that is bigger around.

Next, fold the strip in half (good side out), and tie a knot in one end.

Place a drop of glue on the knot, and fold over.

Next, roll the knot inward, working down the folded strip of fabric.

Place a drop of glue as you roll the knot inward, rolling one and a half times around. This will be the center of your flower.

Place another drop of glue at this point to anchor your starting point. Now, you begin the tricky part! Twist the remaining "tail" of fabric, flipping once to place your cut edges at the top.

Place a drop of glue AFTER the twist, and roll to secure to your center.

This is kind of what yours should look like at this point

From this point on, it will be easiest and least frustrating for you to apply your hot glue to the center of your flower rather than on the tail of your fabric. Continue to twist, roll and glue your fabric while working around to create your rose. This takes some practice, don't get too frustrated! Don't roll your fabric too tightly, or you'll end up with a disc rather than a rose. Like I said, it takes some practice and this works differently for different fabrics.

If you roll your fabric with too much slack, your flower will fall apart. It's an easy fix, though, so don't give up! If your fabric is too loose, simply slide your flower apart where the fabric is too lose. Place a drop of glue and slide the flower back together and let the glue cool. Problem solved!

Continue rolling, twisting and gluing until you have about 2-2.5 inches left of your strip.

Now, take the tail of your fabric and apply a strip of glue to the backside of it. Then pull it down over the back of the flower to close it off.

Now, flip over your flower. You'll notice some strands of material coming out of the top. Trim these VERY CAREFULLY with scissors. If you accidentally cut the fabric, it's OK! Don't panic. We'll cover that in a minute.

Now, light a candle.

Holding the rose above the flame, singe off the extra threads. Be careful of your fingers!

If you see other things catching fire, you may want to call in some backup.

Your flower should look something like this

Now you're ready for your centers! Buttons make AWESOME centers for these flowers; the little loop on the back of the button works great in the folds of the flower. You can also sew them on by sewing through the middle of your rose. But, hot glue works great in any case.

Be careful of your fingers when you're hot gluing! Or, you'll end up with this

After you've applied the neosporin and a pretty little bandaid, you can finish gluing your centers

Now you can sit back, baby your fingers, and enjoy your beautiful creations!

Stacked Singed Satin Flowers Tutorial

I made these SUPER simple flowers for my wedding! They can be made from chiffon as well, but it is more difficult to work with and doesn't hold it's shape as well as satin. The can be made into pins by simply gluing a pin back with felt to the back of the flower, which is how I did the guys' boutonniere's. No more nasty corsage pins! 

Starting with a piece of satin, cut a strip 3-4 inches wide. Then cut the strip into squares. (This is a great project for scrap or remnant fabric because the length and amount is totally up to you!)

Next, cut those squares into circles, gradually going down in size. The biggest circles will be your base petals, and they graduate down as the fabric is stacked. Once again, the size is totally up to you and your unique need and use.

*Use a candle with a low flame for this next part. You can hold the fabric with your fingers if you're careful, otherwise, a pair of rounded jewelers pliers will not mark the fabric.

Hold the circle's edge over a low flame. The edge will start to seal and curl as it burns. Be careful not to hold it in one place too long or you will melt your fabric. Repeat this for all of your fabric circles.

Next, starting with the biggest petals first, stack the circles to form your flower. It's best to stack first, then glue, to make sure you have them in the order you want for your look. Then, glue the stack with a very small dot in between each petal. I find it helpful to offset each petal just enough to make it "fluff" a little.

Then, glue in your centers!