TUTORIAL: NO-Sew Flowers

If only your man brought home fresh flowers for you every day?
Well, show him a surprise and make your own NO-Sew flower bouquet!

I scoured the internet, looking for a simple “fabric flower” tutorial and though some of them were “simple”, there were still too many steps! There had to be an easier method.

And, here it is.
Fabric flowers that you don’t even sew.
You only need a few supplies:
To make a pretty bunch like this:
So let’s get started!

Pick out the fabric color scheme you want. This project is perfect for all those fabric scraps you’ve been stashing away.
Purchase round wooden dowels at your local craft store (any size works; these are 3/16 in by 12 inches long. They’re inexpensive. About $2 for a bag of 16). You can also use pencils, chopsticks, or any other long stick you can think of.
Cut strips of fabric approximately 2×16 inches (no rules here, do whatever size you’d like. This is the size I used)
Then, with your fabric strip, wooden dowel, and glue gun….we’ll make a flower.
Bunch up the beginning of the flower a bit (this will be the center of the flower). Btw, I’m right-handed and found that it’s easiest to hold the flower in my left hand and work the fabric around with my right. If you’re a Leftie, do the opposite.
Stick a dab of hot glue right in the center there and glue the end of the dowel to the center of the flower.
Don’t worry, the tip of the dowel won’t show when you’re done (unless you want it to! You can push it out more and add something to the top of it for a cool center. I just kept mine simple).
Then, run a few inches of glue along the next section of the fabric,
Like this:
And carefully, oh so carefully (so that you don’t burn your hands…which I did….a few times), scrunch bits of the fabric up and press it together at the bottom of the flower. It’s like you’re “ruffling” the fabric. Just keep doing this, bit by bit. Glue, gather, stick, etc. Until you’ve gone all the way around.
You may try using the back of a pen to help press the glued fabric down to keep from burning your finger.
And there you go! You should have a pretty blossom like this:
But let’s finish off that base….
Cut a small FELT circle (any color you’d like). Doesn’t need to be a perfect circle, just eyeball it. Cut a slit in the middle, a la Mrs. Pacman, like this:
Then, glue and wrap the little felt circle around the base of the flower to disguise the messy glue and fabric:
And you’re done!
Wasn’t that E-A-S-Y? And really, pretty cute.
Okay, let’s try variations…

Want to color your stems? Easy again!
Grab your favorite spray paint color. Who said stems had to be green?
You need to find something to make the dowels stand up while you spray them. Use whatever you have in the house. Nothing fancy. I grabbed a sponge, poked tiny holes in it, and stuck the dowels down in each hole….
Ta-Da!
Take your dowels to a good/ventilated “painting spot”.
To contain the paint even more, spray them inside of a box. These bankers boxes have come in more handy for craft projects than for moving.
And start spraying away. Make sure everything gets an even coat. Let them dry.
The tips of the painted dowels will be left unpainted, so use that part of the dowel when you glue it to the center of the flower, so it’s hidden:
The orange really adds a splash of color:
To create the “scalloped” look of the two flowers above, fold your fabric strip in half a couple times:
Then cut a wavy pattern or scallops out of the one side:
And glue it around the dowel. You can also trim the edges a bit when you’re done to sculpt the flower even more.
More ideas….

Add a center to your flower by bunching up a small scrap of fabric and gluing it right into the center:
Try a bright color at the base of your flower:
Or oatmeal brown:
And better yet, take your bouquet to the Mother’s Day party with your family and friends….
And give each woman her own bloom (with a little message attached).
In fact, these flowers make the perfect “party favor” gift for any girly get-together. Or hey….make a gazillion of them for a Wedding! You’d probably want to enlist some friends to watch Seinfeld re-runs with you while you all cut, glue, and ruffle.

Enjoy!

  1. 1) KatieG

    This was an awesome tutorial! I used a red and creme fabric to make two of them, and a creme lace to make one and i loved the way they turned out. Thanks for posting!xD

  2. Very very cute! I love these! I think I will make some myself!

  3. Awesome! I have so many scraps and I don’t want to hand sew every one of them to make flowers, this is perfect.

  4. 5) Juliet

    Nice flowers…..like it.

  5. 6) Denise

    Have you tried to make large flowers ala your paper ones for the wall?

  6. Just made these as a teacher gift for my daughter’s preschool teachers! Thanks for the tutorial!

    vanessa

  7. this is fab! and so easy!
    thanks for sharing!

  8. 9) Lucy

    These are so cute I am going to make some and put them in my room…and maybe give my mom some!!!

  9. I have been looking for an idea for decorating pencils for a journal set for my 8 year olds birthday. These will be perfect to tickle her nose as she thinks of her next story line. Thankyou soooo much.

  10. its inspired me to be a creative person.. Thanks a lot coz sharing this tutorial 🙂

  11. 13) Julia

    I imagine you could make a flower topped pencil using this technique.

  12. 14) isabel cristina

    amei ficaram lindas parabêns

  13. 15) danielle

    c’est un vrai plaisir merci pour le tuto de ces belles fleurs

  14. 16) Sara

    Could you use felt?

    • 17) Dana

      sure! sounds pretty!

  15. 19) karishma

    Awsm..n adorable

  16. this should not be for your mom and want if you don’t have an hot glue gun? YOU ARE STUPID

  17. 21) kat

    Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I have been looking for a simple fabric flower tutorial for my longer scraps. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the extra fabric circles I have!

  18. c’est un vrai plaisir merci pour le tuto de ces belles fleurs

  19. Awesome. Love these. I think I ‘ll do as soon as possible 🙂

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