A Summer Crown Tutorial : :

I have to say that cutting is definitely my least favorite part of the sewing process. How about you? Using a Rotary Cutter set-up is nice, it's fast and much easier on the hands than scissors, but now the folks at Accuquilt went ahead and made it even easier! Enter, the Accuquilt GO! Baby Fabric Cutter. I have been playing around with it for a couple weeks now, and I love it! It does require a little cutting prep work for the projects I've already created, but it's totally worth it!

Today I'm going to share a tutorial with you using the GO! Baby, making a Felt Flower Summer Crown! It's fast, easy, and super cute! If you don't yet own a GO! Baby, regardless of the cutting method you use, you'll be able to make one of these Felt Flower Summer Crowns!

What you'll need : :

• Wool Blend High Quality Felt in a variety of colors -- 1 piece measuring 2.5"x12" for front, 1 piece measuring 3"x12" for back, felt for your flowers and leaves
• 2 - 22" pieces of twisted or braided fabric or ribbon
• Buttons
• Pearl Cotton or DMC embroidery floss
• Sharp scissors and an embroidery needle
• Accuquilt GO! Baby Cutter/The GO! Rose of Sharon die
• Alternatives : :  purchase or create a card stock stencil of your own flower shapes to use, check out these great Felt Flower Tutorials to create a crown like this one. Again, regardless of the cutting method, you'll be able to make a Felt Flower Summer Crown with these instructions!
• Note * Click on any of my images for a larger picture 

Cutting the Felt Flowers : :

I'm including photos of the step by step for those of you who might be interested in seeing just how this GO! Baby works!  

1. Open that GO! Baby 2. Get the Flower die ready 3. Trim felt to cover each die shape 4. Cover each die shape with the felt 5. Cover with the GO! Baby mat 6. Role the die/felt/mat through the machine 7. Remove the mat 8. Layer the cut-out shapes to create your flower




Repeat until you have the amount of flowers you need.

Assembling the Summer Crown : :

1. Prepare the Fabric or Ribbon Ties by twisting or braiding until you have 2 - 22" strands

2. Arrange the layout onto the 2.5"x 12" piece of felt. 3. Using a threaded needle, come up through the backside of the felt piece and hand stitch each leaf into place

4. Attach your layered flowers -- come up through the backside of the felt piece, through the button holes until the flower and button are securely attached, always tie off threads on the back where they'll be hidden 5. Continue attaching layered flowers with the buttons with each layered flower

6. Fill in those empty areas with the smaller flowers until you're happy with the design

7. The back won't look pretty, but that's ok -- lay the finished front piece onto the larger back piece and all will be hidden

8. Pin the flowers away from the edge. You'll need them out of your way to make room for the presser foot to move easily across the band 9. With flowers out of the way, simply top stitch the top piece to the bottom, back-stitching when you begin and finish the seam

10. Leave those small ends open 11. Insert the prepared ties, pin and stitch them in place, back-stitching when you begin and finish the seam

12. Remove all the pins 13. Trim away the excess felt on each side for a nice, neat look

Finished Front    * * *    Finished Back

Voila! You're finished! I hope you have a little one to enjoy this pretty new Summer Crown!

 * * *    Her Idea    * * *

Which, I think, is just as sweet! In addition to Birthday celebrations, this crown can be a wonderful touch for creative and imaginative dress up play. Perfect for Summer Days!

Stay tuned for a GO! Baby Fabric Cutter/3 die set with coordinating mats Giveaway right here, ON MONDAY!!! You can sign up to receive Accuquilt emails/promotions/sales by clicking on either the Accuquilt Blogger Button or the 22 Free Pattern Button on my right sidebar!

Wishing a wonderful weekend to all!