DIY Mother's Day Corsage: Felt Dahlia Flower Brooch

This Mother's Day, make something beautiful for Mom.

Wondering about what to make Mom for Mother's Day? I've been thinking about traditional gifts like flower corsages and lockets, and I decided to combine the two. This felt dahlia pin has a secret pocket in the back that can hold a picture or message for your favorite mom.

You'll need:
- scissors
- Fabri-tac adhesive
- two sheets craft felt, one for the flower and one in a contrasting color for the back
- needle and thread
- brooch pin (available in the beading section of craft stores)
- a bit of thin cardboard (a cereal box from your recycling bin will be perfect for this)

Also helpful, if you have them:
- pinking sheers
- a rotary cutter, mat and ruler
- a sewing machine

We'll be cutting out a bunch individual petals, and above I show what I think is the most efficient way to divide up your sheet of felt. First cut a 3.25 inch diameter circle from your flower color felt. (Do this first to make sure you don't leave yourself too small a scrap at the end.) Then cut three 1.5 inch strips, two 1.25 inch strips and one 1 inch strip of felt. In the contrasting color (here, the green), cut a 2 inch diameter circle and a 1.25 inch square. Cut a small indent into the square.

Finally, cut a 2 inch diameter circle from your cardboard.

Now cut your flower color strips into 1.5, 1.25 and 1 inch squares respectively. If you need more petals you can use the bit of leftover felt to cut more squares. I ended up needing fifteen 1.5 inch petals, thirteen 1.25 inch petals and nine 1 inch petals, you might find you need more or fewer to fill in the flower. To form the petals cut each square into a rounded petal shape, with a wide base and a pointed tip as shown above. Put dots of glue in the lower corners and fold each side over so that they meet in the middle.

This is the most frustrating part of the project -- the glue can take a while to set and if you don't hold the petal shapes in place they will pop open. I found this to be true for both the wool felt and the polyester felt I tested. I made a few versions using felt from various sources and found the higher quality wool felt to be a bit thicker, which meant that it took longer to set, but the colors were richer so I was willing to wait. I used a heavy stainless steel skillet to hold my folded petals down while they dried, as shown above. Luckily, the Fabri-tac adhesive won't bond to the metal of the skillet, so you don't have to worry about petals stuck to your pan.

While the petals are setting you can prepare the back of the flower. Glue the cardboard circle to the center of the 3.25 inch flower color felt circle. Then dab glue on the overhanging part of the felt and fold it over the edges of the cardboard, wrapping it around to the back. You might need to put a saucepan on top to weigh it down while it sets. This will be the base for the petals, and the folded edges on the back will be covered by your contrasting felt circle at the very end.

Now grab your contrasting felt square and circle. Position the square at the bottom of the circle and stitch it around three sides to make a small pocket that opens to the side, leaving enough room at the top of the circle to attach the pin. You can put a few small dabs of glue on the pin before you hand stitch it into place at the top of the circle. I used contrasting thread that matched my flower, but you can use whatever thread color you'd like.

When the petals are set, it's time to glue them to the flower color base. Glue the 1.5 inch petals around the edge of the base, positioning them in about 1/4 inch. As you work be sure to snug the base of the petals as close together side by side as you can; the more you can fit on the base, the more dramatic the results. Next, glue a row of the 1.25 inch petals about 1/4 inch further in towards the center of your pin. Do the same with the 1 inch petals, leaving about a 1 inch circle in the middle.

 

To finish the center of the flower cut a 1 inch circle from the remaining flower color felt using the pinking sheers, or cut a wavy edge with scissors. Also use the pinking sheers to cut a thin strip from the felt; you can cut two strips if you think you'll need them. Glue down the small circle in the center of your flower to cover the ends of the smallest petals. Then curl the thin strip into a tight spiral and glue that to the very center.

All that is left to do is to glue the contrasting colored backing to the back of the flower, covering the back of the cardboard, and find a picture -- or write a little note -- small enough to slip into the secret pocket. Then wrap it up and present it to Mom!