Tiny Ric-Rac Flowers

Transcription

1 1 Tiny Ric-Rac Flowers Use your smallest ric-rac trims to make adorable tiny flower embellishments for doll costumes and more! These little flowers are so quick and easy to make, you ll have a collection in no time! So gather up your trims and let s go! Supplies and Materials Ric-Rac Trim any size works. At least 6mm width is recommended for a first flower as it will be easier to go smaller when you get used to it! Scissors Strong thread, such as silamide beading thread Sharp needle Fray Check Bit of white tacky glue & small clip/clothespin

2 2 Normally I make these flowers very small, using ric-rac like the cream color shown below right. However, for this tutorial I am using jumbo ric-rac. The reason behind this scale change is so you can better see the stitches I am making during each step. The methods are identical for all scales of ric-rac, so you can make flowers of any size. See the end of this lesson for more information on ric-rac widths and the tiny flower sizes they make.

3 3 To begin, let me define a term as it is rather important. As we know, ric-rac is wavy. In this tutorial, I will refer to the upper most waves as peaks. We will work almost exclusively with this part of the ric-rac, so remember peaks! (The peaks are also the areas represented by the tiny blue dots in the image below.) To begin, count off 15 peaks and cut off this section of ric-rac. This section will be enough to create your whole flower. When you sew through the peaks, you want to pass the needle through the very top of the peak. In the steps that follow, use the blue dots shown above as a guide for how close to the edge to sew. With smaller scales, get as close as you can I know, they are small! Cut about a 1 yard length of thread and thread it through your needle. I double the thread and triple knot the ends so it is secure leave about a 4 inch tail beyond the knotted end so you have room to tie later. To create the flower petals, enter through the front of the first peak and then enter through the back of the second peak so the ric-rac forms a U-shape.

4 4 Keep alternating with your needle tip entering the fronts and backs of the peaks. You will begin to see the petals form. This view is looking down at the top of the first two petals. Keep threading the ric-rac peaks onto the needle until you have 5 and 6 such petals showing on the top and bottom of the flower. Here is a view of the flower center see how close the needle is to the edge?

5 5 And here is the outer edge of the flower. The dip in the center forms the separation between the top and bottom layer of petals. Once you have 6 rounded petal shapes on the top layer and 5 on the bottom layer, your raw ric-rac ends should be facing the same direction. Below they are facing upward. Treat the raw edges with fray check and trim them down so they are flush with the petal centers beside them.

6 6 This next tip comes from my good friend Sue. Thanks Sue! Now we need to tie the thread ends together so that the center of the flower forms a closed circle. In the image on the left, the top thread sticking out is the original knotted end where we began stitching. The thread coming out at the bottom is our final peak stitch. We need to tie these two ends together to form the flower. To make tying simple, take your needle and push it back through the peak where you first started so that the thread crosses over to meet itself. Now when you pull the two ends tight, it will be easier to keep the ric-rac from slipping out of place when you tie your knot. Give it a try, you ll see!

7 7 Okay, now I have pulled the ends in tight to form the flower center. Tie about three knots there to secure the thread. Now add a bit of white glue to the insides of the ends and embed the thread in the glue. Clip both edges together while the glue dries and snip off any thread ends sticking out. Now use your fingers to spread apart and shape the petals. That is it! Flower complete! Now you can add beads, bits of paint, glitter or other embellishments to make the flowers one of a kind!

8 8 As I mentioned before, the flower in this tutorial is made with jumbo ric-rac. Ric-rac is actually measured by the full width from peak to peak, not the actual width of the trim. So when you are purchasing it, it is important to remember the width is thicker than the actual trim. Jumbo ric-rac is 15mm in width. This makes a flower that is 35mm diameter. Left: 3mm ric-rac makes a 6mm flower (very tiny about ¼ inch). Right: 6mm ric-rac makes a 14mm flower. This is about ½ inch.

9 9 And 4mm ric-rac makes an 8mm flower. The softer the ric-rac, the better. Happy flowering! This is a Doll Project Tutorial from Jessica Hamilton I send out free projects (mostly doll-related) on the first Friday of every month. If you are not a subscriber and would like to join my free newsletter list, you can sign up at :]. Copyright and Usage 2013 Jessica Hamilton, dba Doll Project All rights reserved. No part of this tutorial may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of Jessica Hamilton. All patterns are original designs created by Jessica Hamilton. Purchaser may sell the projects created using this tutorial without restriction as long as it is the purchaser making the product (not a factory).

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