Friday, July 29, 2011

A Summer Crown Tutorial : :

Finished 4
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
GO! baby fabric cutter GO! Roses of Sharon
layout felt pieces layout felt pieces
cover with mat Quick, easy roll-through
Flowers = cut! Perfect Felt Flower
Repeat until you have the amount of flowers you need. weekend wip

Assembling the Summer Crown : :

1. Prepare the Fabric or Ribbon Ties by twisting or braiding until you have 2 - 22" strands
twisted fabric twisted fabric
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
Layout 1 Stitch Leaves
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
Attach Flowers with Buttons Attached with Buttons
6. Fill in those empty areas with the smaller flowers until you're happy with the design
Fill-in flowers Filling In -- finished
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
Backside -- not pretty Button on 2
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
Pinned Pinned up and stitch 2
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
Insert here insert ties
12. Remove all the pins 13. Trim away the excess felt on each side for a nice, neat look
ready to trim trim up back
Finished Front    * * *    Finished Back
Finished 2 reverse finished
Voila! You're finished! I hope you have a little one to enjoy this pretty new Summer Crown!Finished 3
Finished back tie
 * * *    Her Idea    * * *
Her idea : ) 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!

22 comments:

  1. Great tutorial and what a fun project! I love it as the belt too!!

    Have a great weekend!

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  2. I've got to agree with you about the cutting... it's also my least favorite part of sewing. Wish I had one of those Go! Baby cutters... I will be back for your giveaway for sure!

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  3. What a nicely done tutorial! Very clear and step by step. I know that's a ton of work. p.s. Your daughter's curls are to die for.

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  4. very cute. I need one of those go babies so I can make one of these!

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  5. thank you so much for putting this together, I'm going to try and make one this weekend. :) again, I'm so grateful that you sent me everything, really! :)

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  6. I too don't like cutting...especially if there are curves! A project like this would actually be fun to do with the help of the GO! Baby!

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  7. Annette - that's why I chose applique dies when I picked out my three. I love applique, as you know, but the cutting of flowers, birds, leaves, etc. isn't much fun. The GO! baby actually makes it fun, easy, and cuts perfectly!

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  8. Wow, I found your great post via Craft Gossip and I am LOVING this tutorial! I have two little girls who are going to adore having a gorgeous floral crown each. :)

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  9. Too fun! I bet she loves those!

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  10. The crown is adorable... and I love it as a belt too :D

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  11. Makes a great little belt, too! Love my Accuquilt Studio....just so fast with the cutting!

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  12. Great tutorial! My granddaughters would love these......might have to buy some felt and I would love a Go! Baby.

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  13. Lovely crown/belt for a little princess!

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