Here’s any easy project for making a felted brooch. I started with two sizes of circles, one 3.5 inches, and one 2.5 inches diameters. I used a wool felt as a base, but you can use your favorite fabric or interfacing for your base. I hand felted the circles separately, and along the edges, I wrapped the extra roving to the back and lightly felted to hold in place. I was concentrating so much on the felting, I didn’t even notice my circles had become lopsided. Well, since I was just practicing, I decided to continue on, making a mental note to watch the shape. I then added a contrasting color to the center of each flower circle. Now it was time to stack the two flowers, and see how it looked. I attached the two layers by concentrating the felting in the center making it tighter. This also leaves a nice area to attach something for the center of the flower. I added a rhinestone button, but there are many things you could use. With the sparkle in the center, I decided to add a little more by sewing some seed beads along the edge of each flower.
Well, as so many times, one thing leads to another. The flower was complete, but now I noticed an area that was really lopsided. 🙂 It was too late to add more felting, so I looked on my table, and there found some paper leaves and attached those on the back to fill in the uneven space. I finished it off by adding a smaller piece of wool felt to the back, using a slip stitch and fabric glue, then a pinback.
Next dilema came when it was time to take a photo. How can I display this and make it look like a piece of art. After trying several decorative papers, I remember another project I had started, and maybe the colors would work together.
I usually have several projects going at any one time. I had some fabric that I was trying the Adirondack sprays to dye. I first washed a piece of muslin, to remove any sizing. I twisted it to wring out the excess water, and spread it on a piece of plastic. While the fabric was still wet, I sprayed the fabric randomly with Terra Cotta, Butterscotch, and Lettuce color washes. When it was dry, I decided I like the wrinkles look, so didn’t I didn’t iron it, and just wrapped it around a canvas panel and glued on the back. So now I had a background to photograph my felted flower.
To complete the arrangement, I added a page of text, piece of ribbon, and lace scrap which was also dyed with the same Adirondack color washes. I think it’s ready for the photo!
Paperwhimsy products used: