Miniature Embroidered Felt Floral Bouquet and Mini "concrete" Vase

I wanted to create a vase of flowers for my work desk – but one that will last forever, won’t need watering and won’t be a danger to the laptop when I knock it over. I also wanted it to not take up too much room. So a miniature felt embroidered floral bouquet in a little felt vase seemed ideal. I was so happy with the result, though, that I ended up making a large amount of extra blooms!

This embroidered felt floral bouquet uses only three basic embroidery stitches: back stitch, star stitch and split stitch. The materials are easy and inexpensive to source, and the results are effective.

Supplies

To make one bouquet of seven flowers and stems in a vase:

• 1 packet floristry wire in 18 – 22 gauge
• Each flower uses a total of 9 circles of matching coloured felt – three of 1cm, three of 1.5cm and three of 2.5cm, so grab one packet each of:
• craft felt shapes circles 2.5cm diameter in mixed colours
• craft felt shapes circles 1cm diameter in mixed colours
• craft felt shapes circles 1.5cm diameter in mixed colours
• Rotary cutter
• Metal ruler or quilting ruler
• A4 sheet of mint green felt
• A4 sheet of lime green felt
• A4 sheet of stiffened felt 3mm in mottled grey (this looks a bit like ‘concrete’ and is perfect for the vase)
• Embroidery or crewel needle
• Embroidery threads to sew the felt. Pick colours to match each of your felt colour choices (both the green and grey felt sheets and the circles you use to make each flower)
• Embroidery scissors
• Scissors to cut felt (felt blunts scissors so not your good dress making scissors)
• Pliers
• Tape measure
• Pins or quilt clips (optional)
• stuffing pellets (optional) or a large spare metal hardware washer to weight down the bottom of the vase

Step 1: Making Each Individual Flower Stem

Each bouquet I made contains seven flower stems, and seven accompanying leaf stems, and they fit neatly into the vase. Total bouquet size in vase measures 15cm tall by 8cm wide and 8cm deep. The vase measures 7cm tall by 4cm wide and 4cm deep, and each flower measures 10cm long.

From the A4 sheet of lime green felt, use the rotary cutter and metal ruler to cut a strip 1cm wide by 10cm long.

Take one length of floristry wire and use the pliers to trim to 11 cm long. Use the pliers to bend under a tiny loop at each end so the wire is no longer sharp.

Thread an embroidery needle with 2 strands of your matching lime green embroidery thread and attach the felt strip to your wire by pinching the felt strip lengthwise at one end around the crown. Using matching 2 strands of embroidery thread, blanket stitch the felt to the wire. I curved the ends of the felt strips a little at the start of of the length to assist shaping.

Repeat this process 7 times to make 7 stems, or cut a bulk lot of each of the materials and sew them all in sequence. You are now ready to attach petals to the flower stem.

Select 9 felt circles, 3 of each of the 3 sizes, to form the petals of the flower.

Each individual flower centre is formed from three 1cm circles of felt. I know this sounds weird, but it looks wonderful when completed. Take the first 2 circles and fold them in half. Use a pin at the top and bottom of each fold to mark the half way points on the circle circumferences. Line up these to circles back to back, and using 2 strands of matching embroidery thread work blanket stitch from top to bottom of the circumference of these circles. At the bottom of the circle, take the third felt circle and fold it in half to mark the halfway points. Line the new circle against the two joined circles and complete stitching the circumference of the felt shape but this time using just one layer of the existing two circles and the new circle. You end up with three circles joined at 2 seams with one seam open. At the top of the felt circle work blanket stitch down this final seam. Stop about 5mm from the end and insert the covered wire stem inside the joined circles and complete the last 1 or 2 stitches. You now have a 3 sided joined circle shape atop a green stem.

The next 2 layers of petals are just 3 of each size of firstly the 1.5 cm and then 2.5cm circles arranged around the base of the centre circle at the point where they join the stem. To attach each, I pinch a felt circle in half and bend it around the wire up close to the centre circles and then catch it to the stem with a couple of stitches of matching embroidery thread, and then repeat a little offset for the next petal. I work like a triangle type shape around the stem circumference.

After adding all 6 of the remaining felt circles, you can shape the flower by bending down the outer most layer of petals.

Repeat the flower making 7 times to make 7 blooms. I tried different colour blooms in the same pot.

Step 2: Making the Leaf for the Flower Stems

You will need 7 accompanying leafs for the flowers in the bouquet.

I made mine using a lighter mint green felt as a contrast to the flower stem.

For each leaf, use the template provided, pins and scissors to pin and cut 2 matching leaf shapes from the mint green sheet of felt.

Using 2 strands of matching mint green embroidery thread, work blanket stitch around the edge of the leaf shape starting at the bottom of the leaf shape. Once you have worked about 2/3 of the outline, cut a small length of floristry wire about 9cm long and insert inside the leaf to shape the leaf. Be sure to turn in the top and bottom corners of the wire to stop them being sharp. Continue to stitch around the leaf edge. At the base of the leaf, use 3 or 4 stitches to catch the leaf base to the flower stem about 3cm from the base of the stem. You can curl the leaves to shape them. I like a couple that can hang over the vase edge.

I arranged all 7 of my completed flower stems with leaves into an attractive bouquet shape and ‘lassoed’ them together about 3 cm from the stem base with a couple of twists of embroidery thread.

Step 3: To Make the Mini ‘Concrete’ Vase

Using the template pieces provided, pins and scissors, cut 4 vase sides and 1 vase base from the stiffened mottled cream felt. I like this felt because it is thick and retains it’s shape so you can make sturdy shapes like vases.

I decorated each of the 4 sides of the vase with a 1.5cm circle of felt in a variety of colours just caught down with an eight armed star shaped stitch (a bit like wheel spokes). Stitch each of these first.

Now construct the vase.

To do this align 2 sides of the vase along their long edge and blanket stitch don the seam using 2 strands of matching grey thread. Ii like to keep one finger in between the layers as I stitch so they are not super tightly stitched together because the seam will eventually open out a little to form the vase shape. I end the thread at the base of the seam.

Next I align the base square to the 2 joined vase sides and I work this seam all the way around, working at a bit of an angle with the felt. I then set this part completed vase section aside.

I next repeat the joining of the last remaining 2 sides of the vase along their long side and end the seam at the base.

I then take the first section of vase with the 2 sides and base attached, and align one of the 2 remaining vase sides from the other vase section against one seam. I like to use a quilting clip to hold the pieces together because it can get a bit fiddly, or you could use a pin. Again I work this seam in blanket stitch to the base and then continue around the corner joining on the remaining 2 base edges. Finally I work the one remaining vase side.

The vase will pop into shape as you work.

The vase can be a little unstable so I put some stuffing pellets and a second fake felt base inside the pot for stability, but you can get the same effect by just popping a large washer in the vase base.

Place your bouquet in the vase and enjoy forever flowers that do not require watering and that even if they fall over next to our PC, will not short the whole machine out!