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Embroidered Felt Brooch Project
Melissa (from tiny happy and our board) has made some lovely embroidered brooches in past months. Today she shows you how to them too. Pin one on your jacket, give one to a friend… You’ll want to make several.
From Melissa: I’ve been enjoying making these little pins by hand, late in the evening while listening to music or watching a DVD. You don’t need much to create one, just some scraps of felt, some embroidery thread and a needle. Here I’ve included some guidelines for making a brooch with a hand-embroidered daisy design.
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Materials:
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1. Cut a circle of felt with a diameter of about 2″. Cut another circle with which to ‘back’ your brooch- you could use the same felt, or a different colour. Here I’ve chosen a slightly oval shape, because I thought it was a better match for my design.
2. Decide on your design: I think it’s best to start with something fairly simple for your first brooch. Also, think about the colour of your felt and which thread colours would stand out well together. My favourite things to embroider are plants, but it’s also quite fun to make a geometric design… Or think of it as a miniature embroidery sampler and try out a few new stitches!
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3. If you’d like to make a daisy pin like the one above, here is a rough stitching guide that might help if this is your first time trying ‘free-form’ embroidery. The little loops in my drawing represent the chain stitch I used… |
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…I started with the yellow centres, and then worked the petals separately, before working the stems and little vine at the top. |
Here is a picture of some of my embroidered pins, a couple of geometric designs, a pine branch and some daisies:
I don’t use patterns or transfers for any of my embroideries, and I encourage you to just start stitching and see where your thread takes you.
For a quick reminder about chain or other embroidery stitches you can print our Pocket Stitch Book, or there are also some good diagrams here.
4. When you’ve finished your embroidery, you might need to trim around the edges of your felt circle, if it’s been stretched out of shape. You can use your backing circle as a guide. Next, place the backing circle over the brooch front and use a small blanket stitch to join them neatly together.
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5. Finally, securely sew your brooch back or safety pin to the back of your brooch, making sure it’s lined up the way you want your brooch to sit when worn. |
Pin your finished brooch to your coat, bag or cardigan and admire your handiwork!
These are so darn cute – love them!
I love these, am up to make some for a [URL=http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/43846]swap on Swap-bot[/URL]! Thanks for the inspiration.
That is so sweet, and so easy i,ll certainly be making a few.
So cute!! I can see making these to match all kinds of sweaters & jackets.
Thank you for sharing this! I know someone who would love getting one as a gift!
How cute! I must try these out! Now I need to get to the craft store for felt and pin backs.
These are lovely!
I need to make some to “renew” my clothing.
i’ve definitely got to try this! such a sweet idea.
What a perfect little gift to make.
These would make gifts for teachers. Thank you!
Very charming……..love the felt! I am going to make one.
Those look like a great Christmas gift idea! Thanks!
This is so creative!!!
Great idea for a special homemade gift!
WOW!
I love the pine cone one! Which inspired me for a maple leaf one for autumn!
So AAAdorable! I make these also but a tad differently. I’ll have to show mine on my blog; they are such fun to make and use up the bobs and bits that are too small for larger projects.
I really enjoy your blog.
Very Pretty.
Beautiful. I love the pin with the evergreen branches & little pinecone!
What a great idea, I can’t wait to start making lots of these adorable pins!!
Great tutorial and gift idea. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie
Beautiful work, as always, and great tutorial, Melissa. Thanks!
Beautiful ! they remind me of girl guide or brownie badges, but much more adorable. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely!
Thanks for sharing your secrets, Melissa!
Very pretty. I love your embroidery style so much!
Really nice idea.
Great gift idea, I’m envisioning one on a little clutch purse… ooo that would be so cute!
this is a great idea! thank you!
How cute those are. Great job.
I am going to try making them. these are s darn cute!
Pretty pretty!
This would make a fun little project 
thank you everyone- for such nice comments! i hope you have fun trying these out.
What a sweet idea! This could be a fun, quick project for younger stitchers, too!
Those are super cute.. and really easy! I need to make a bunch for gifts..
so intricate! so pretty.
these look like they’d make great little gifts!
What a sweet project! Thanks for this great tutorial.
These are super cute! Can’t wait to make some for the holidays.
These are super cute! Can’t wait to make some for the holidays.