Birdsong Bows

The Annabelle Flower/Brooch

By Deanna D. McCool
Congratulations on deciding to learn how to make this elegant fabric or ribbon flower accessory! In
this e-book, youll learn how to make this flower style in either fabric or ribbon, and how to mount it to
either a clip or elegant headband for babies, older girls, and women. With just a bit of practice, youll
be able to move easily through each step. This fabric/ribbon flower has been designed with beginners
in mind! If you can thread a needle, you can easily make these. I show these methods first out of
fabric, and in Section VI, I give tips and sizes for using ribbon.

I highly recommend reading through this instruction manual first, before jumping in and buying
supplies or starting your project. That way, there are no surprises as you begin.

Please note: This project includes the application of a button. Children under age 3 should wear
these flowers ONLY under direct adult supervision, as in a photography session. Buttons represent a
choking hazard and would be best used on accessories for children older than 3.

Thank you for purchasing these instructions! Please visit the shop at www.birdsongpatterns.com and
www.birdsongbows.etsy.com for more tutorials and inspiration, and contact me at
birdsongbows@gmail.com if you have questions!
 Table of Contents
I. Supplies ............................................................................................................................ 2

II. Sewing the four-petal flower ............................................................................................. 4

III. Sewing the three-petal flower ........................................................................................... 7

IV. Sewing the two-layer topper flower ................................................................................... 8

V. Putting the layered flower all together ............................................................................. 10

VI. Creating the flower out of ribbon...................................................................................... 12

VII. Mounting your flower to clips and headbands.................................................................. 14

VIII. Supplier list ......................................... ........................................................................... 17

Photos and text Deanna D. McCool and Birdsong Bows and Patterns 2011. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, shared or transmitted in any form without expressed
written permission of the author. Subject to all international copyright laws. Designs from this pattern
may be sold in small quantities by home-based crafters. Please indicate that theyre made with a
Birdsong pattern in any descriptive materials.

Special thanks to Kim Timothy of Boutique by Design for creating the graphics for this manual, and to
Christa of A Hope and A Wish Photography for the beautiful cover photo. Also, thanks to my husband,
Brad McCool, for assisting me with the layout, and my daughter, Natalia, for modeling for me!

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I. Supplies
The following (Fig. 1) can be purchased at your local fabric or craft store, or through several different
online retailers - see Section VIII for a suppliers list.

Fig. 1

For fabric flowers:

1. 2 or 3 fat quarters of fabric in different colors; two for the flower and green for the leaves (if
desired). You can use regular cottons, but this project looks especially nice with dupioni silks, two-
toned (ombre) silks, and satins. This amount of fabric will allow you to have plenty of material left
over.
2. Sewing needle and matching thread
3. A cutting tool. Preferred: A cutting mat with 45-degree angle marks, rotary cutter and acrylic ruler.
However, you can also use scissors, a marking device and a regular ruler to measure and cut.
4. Iron and ironing board
5. Felt for project backing
6. Alligator/pinch clip or another style of hair clip (if using as a hair accessory clip)
7. Fold-over elastic for the baby headband, or a hard wire, plastic or thread-wrapped headband for
older girls/women (if using as headband)
8. Lighter or wood-burning tool for searing the edges of the fold-over elastic (if using)
9. Hot glue gun and hot glue
10. Fancy decorative button for the center of the flower

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For ribbon flowers:

Almost all of the above,* except swap out #1 for the following three items:
1. 1 yd ( 0.9 m) of 7/8 wide unwired satin or French wired satin in green for leaves. Youll take the
wire out if using French wired satin. I highly recommend the two-tone (ombre) French-wired satin
for this project, because of the richness and beauty of the colors! There are also some pretty silk
ribbons on the market.
2. 1 yd (0.9 m) of 1 1/2 wide French wired satin (or unwired satin or silk) in one or two colors for the
flowers. Again, I recommend the two-tone (ombre) French-wired satin for this project.
3. Optional: 1 yd (0.9 m) of 7/8 wide satin in a matching petal color if you want to layer your flower
with a two- or three-petal topper layer.

*You should not need the iron/ironing board for ribbon flowers.

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II. Sewing the four-petal flower
The four-petal flower can be used alone, or as a
base for a layered fantasy flower. Im using it here
as a base layer, and making it in green so it
simulates leaves (I show it in pink on my cutting
mat, since green would blend too much for
photography purposes).

Supplies needed: Fabric, needle, matching thread,

cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic ruler OR scissors Fig. 2
and ruler. In the following steps Ive stitched in non-
matching thread to make it easier for you to see.

Instructions

1. Press your fabric well with your iron.

2. Cut your fabric into 4 pieces, each 6 in. long by

3 in. wide (15.2 cm x 7.6 cm). You can do this
quickly by cutting it first into 3 in. strips, and
then cross-cutting them to 6 in. long pieces
(Fig. 2).

3. Fold each piece in half lengthwise, wrong sides

together, and press (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3

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4. Cut one end at a 45-degree angle, starting at
the corner of the folded edge. Youll want to
make sure that the folded edge is the long side.
I cut all of them on my rotary mat, placing each
strip on the 45-degree angle and making a
single slice across all of them (Figs. 4 and 5).
(Note: The folded edge is along the bottom.)

Fig. 4

5. Flip your strip around and cut the other side at

the same 45-degree angle - making sure the
folded edge is the long side (Fig. 6). (Note: The
folded edge is still along the bottom.)

6. Arrange your strips in a square, with folded

edges along the inside and the raw-angled cuts
aligned (Fig. 7).

Fig. 5

Fig. 7 Fig. 6

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7. Using a running stitch (in/out, in/out) start at
one of the folded edge corners, and stitch all
four pieces together along the outside, raw
edges (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8

8. Pull your thread to gather your fabric. Note that

the gathered edge pulls to the inside, with the
folded edge forming the petals along the
outside. Tie off your thread and snip it (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9

9. You have a 4-petal flower! In this case, its a

base layer representing leaves (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10

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III. Sewing the three-petal flower
The three-petal flower can be used alone, or as the
first layer of the actual flower (resting on top of the
leaf layer).

Supplies needed: Two colors of fabric, needle,

matching thread, cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic
ruler OR scissors and ruler. In the following steps
Ive stitched in non-matching thread to make it
easier for you to see. Fig. 11

Instructions

1. Complete steps 1-5 in Section II, EXCEPT use

only 3 strips instead of 4.

2. Cut two strips of one color, and one of another

color.

Tip: If youd like a smaller flower, cut your strips to

2 in. wide by 4 in. long (5.1 cm by 10.2 cm).

3. Arrange your strips in a horseshoe shape (or an

upside-down U) with folded edges along the
inside. Make sure the raw angles align. I use
two of the same color along the sides, and a Fig. 12
different one along the top.

4. Using a running stitch (in/out, in/out), start at

one of the folded edge corners, and stitch all
three pieces together along the outside, raw
edges (Fig. 11).

5. Pull your thread to gather your fabric (Fig. 12).

6. Stitch the edges together, tie off your thread

and snip it.

7. Admire your 3-petal flower! This will be the first

flower layer above your leaves, or you can use
it alone as an embellishment (Fig. 13).
Fig. 13

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IV. Sewing the two-petal topper
flower
This will be the top layer of your fantasy flower.

Supplies needed: Two colors of fabric, needle,

matching thread, cutting mat/rotary cutter/acrylic
ruler OR scissors and ruler. In the following steps
Ive stitched in non-matching thread to make it
Fig. 14
easier for you to see.

Instructions

1. Complete steps 1-5 in Section II, EXCEPT use

only 2 strips, each in a different color, AND cut
each one to 2 in. wide by 4 in. long (5.1 cm by
10.2 cm). This top layer will be smaller than the
others (Fig. 14).

2. Arrange your strips in a V, with the folded edges

on the inside of the V and the raw, angled
edges matching along the bottom of the V Fig. 15
(Fig. 15).

3. Beginning at the top of the V, at the folded

edge, use a running stitch and stitch both
pieces together along the outside, raw edges
(Fig. 16).

Fig. 16

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4. Pull your thread to gather your fabric (Fig. 17).

5. Stitch the edges together, tie off your thread

and snip it.

Fig. 17

6. Youve got a 2-petal topper (Fig. 18)!

Fig. 18

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V. Putting the layered flower all
together
Youll be stitching your layered flower onto a base
of fabric, and adding a final layer of felt for stability.

Supplies needed: The same fabric as your bottom

layer, needle, matching thread, scissors, decorative
button, felt, hot glue gun and glue stick.
Fig. 19
Instructions

1. Cut your fabric into a 3-in. by 3-in. (7.6 cm)

square (Fig. 19).

2. Stitch your bottom layer (in this case, my leaf

layer) to the square of fabric in the center. I take
running stitches around the center a couple of
times (Fig. 20).

3. Stitch your 3-petal flower to the top (Fig. 21).

4. Stitch your 2-petal topper on top, angling it so

that the colors are resting on the opposite color
on the 3-petal layer (Fig. 22). Fig. 20

Fig. 22 Fig. 21

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5. Stitch your decorative button to the center
(Fig. 23).

6. Trim the excess fabric from the back, leaving

just a circle of fabric where youve stitched
(Fig. 24).
Fig. 23

7. Cut a circle of felt to cover the center bottom,

and hot-glue it in place (Fig. 25).

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

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VI. Creating the flower out of ribbon
Sometimes youd like a more dainty flower, or
maybe you just have a love for ribbon! Here Ill
show you how to scale down your project to make
it suitable for ribbon work.

Supplies: 1 1/2 wide ribbon, either wired or

unwired, in one or two colors; 7/8 wide ribbon,
either wired or unwired, in green; scissors, needle,
matching thread, and decorative button. Fig. 26

Instructions

1. Cut 4 pieces of 1 1/2 wired or unwired ribbon

to 4 in (10.2 cm) long.

2. If wired, remove wires from both sides.

3. Follow steps 4-8 in Section II. You wont need to

fold your ribbon in half, as you would with
fabric, since ribbon doesnt have a raw edge.

Tip: Since theres no fold, make sure the long sides

of the ribbon are toward the inside of your square
(Fig. 26).
Fig. 27
4. Admire your flower (Fig. 27).

5. Cut 2 pieces of 7/8 wired or unwired green

ribbon to 6 in (15.2 cm) long.

6. If wired, remove wires from both sides.

7. Follow steps 2-5 in Section IV. You wont need

to fold your ribbon in half, as you would with
fabric.

Tip: Since theres no fold, make sure the long sides

of the ribbon are toward the inside of your V
(Fig. 28).

Fig. 28

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8. Sew your leaves to the back of the flower,
allowing a portion of the leaves to be seen from
the front. Overlap the back center hole of the
flower with the leaf petals, so you can use this
as a base to sew on your button without using
backing fabric (Fig. 29).

Fig. 29
9. Sew on your button to the center of the flower
(Fig. 30).

Tip: If you feel your flower or button is heavy, you

may sew it to base fabric as in Section V.

Variation:
Add a 2-petal topper to your flower by cutting two
strips of 7/8 ribbon to 4 in. (10.2cm) wide and add
it to the top of your 4-petal base!
Fig. 30

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VII. Mounting your flower to clips
and headbands
Supplies needed for clip: Completed fantasy
flower, pinch clip/barrette, hot glue gun and glue
sticks. If preferred, you can line your clip using 4
1/2 in. (11.4 cm) of 3/8 grosgrain ribbon.

Supplies needed for headband: Fold-over elastic

Fig. 31
(for baby/toddler headband) OR hard
plastic/wire/thread wrapped headband for older
girl/adult headband, wood burning tool or lighter,
scissors, needle, matching thread.

Instructions for mounting to a clip

1. Hot-glue the clip to the felt on the back of your

project - thats it (Fig. 31)!

Instructions for mounting to a headband (for

babies/toddlers)

1. If youve got your child available, measure her

head and cut your elastic 1-2 in. (2.5-5 cm)
smaller. This is very stretchy elastic, so use
your judgment.

2. If you do not have a child available or youre

making these to sell, cut your fold-over elastic
to the size indicated in the chart below.

Newborn 12-13 in. (30.5-33 cm)

3 - 6 months 13-15 in. (33-38 cm)
6-12 months 15-16 in. (38-40.6 cm)
1-13 years 17 in. (43 cm)
13+ years 18 in. (46 cm)

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3. Heat seal the ends of the elastic, so they dont
fray. To do this using a wood-burning tool: Turn
on the tool, wait for it to heat up, and then rub
the edge of the tool over both edges of the
elastic (Fig. 32).

4. Sew both edges together in a circle, using a Fig. 32

whipstitch (Fig. 33).

5. Attach your finished floral piece to the side of

the headband with the seam. For larger, fabric
bows, stitch in three places on each side of the
elastic, giving the elastic a bit of slack
between each section so it can still stretch (Fig.
34). I show it here in non-matching thread, but
youll want to use matching thread for neatness
sake. For the smaller, ribbon flower, just stitch
in the center on both sides of the elastic.
Fig. 33

Fig. 34

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6. For the baby/toddler headbands, I do not sew
another piece of felt to the back. Its comfy for
the baby either way, and when shes done
wearing it on the stretchy headband, it can be
removed at a later time and used as a brooch
or barrette.

Fig. 35
7. Youre finished (Fig. 35)!

Alternate application:

If youd like to attach the fabric fantasy flower to a

hard wire/plastic/thread-covered headband for
older girls and women, cut another piece of felt to
match the one on the bottom of your floral piece.
You will probably have to trace it from your finished
piece. Apply hot glue to the headband, about 3 in.
(7.6 cm) up from the bottom of one side. Apply your
finished flower project. Hot-glue the second piece
of felt to the bottom of the headband, matching it to
the top piece. Wear, and enjoy!

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VIII. Supplier List
In addition to big-box craft retailers, a reliable source to purchase satin ribbon and clips is The Ribbon
Retreat, http://www.theribbonretreat.com .

For this project I would also urge you to look beyond craft ribbon sources and check out other
sources for vintage, vintage-inspired, French-wired and ombre (two-toned) ribbons in silks and satins.
The flowers look beautiful with these more delicate ribbons, and theyre easier to sew.

Some sources for these include:

The Store on the Corner, http://www.christenbrown.com/supplies/index.html
Nicholas Kniel http://www.nicholaskniel.com

Etsy also has a couple of nice shops for silk and french-wire ribbon:
Evertales: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Evertales
The Fairy Davis Paperie: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FairyDavisPaperie

For fold-over elastic, there are also several places to purchase, but Ive had great success with
Elastic By the Yard, on Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElasticByTheYard .

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