DIY Wedding Challenge: MOB/MOG Brooch

This guide is designed to show you how to use basic sewing skills to make a handmade brooch/corsage for women in your wedding party.  This is a piece that can be beautiful the day of your wedding and keepsake for your loved ones to remember your special day!  Not to mention the fact that they know it was handmade just for them.  Lovely.

Supplies Needed: 

1 roll of 1"-1 1/4" fabric ribbon
1 roll of 1/4" - 1 1/2" sheer shimmery ribbon
1/4 yard of brown tulle
1/4 yard of ivory tulle
1/4 yard of chiffon fabric
15-20 beads of your choice (in this case pearls)
1 artificial magnolia flower
feathers of your choice
needle
thread

Step 1.

Make accordion folds with the fabric ribbon by folding the ribbon down and back on itself.  This is very objective in terms of how large the folds are and how much space is between each fold.  Be sure to stitch (making a knot at the end of your thread) every single fold to hold it in place.  This is not a science, it does not have to be pretty, just tack it down.  Continue this process, slightly curving the folds, until you complete the circle to an appropriate size.  I did not measure, but rather held up the flower to the circle as I was making the accordion folds, until I reached the desired circumference.

Sew the two ends together with just a few stitches (again just to secure it). 

Step 2.

(sorry, it is hard to see the tulle)

Cut your tulle and chiffon into small circles.  Slightly smaller than your ribbon circle.  Start with larger circles and then make them smaller to stack them as your petals decrease in size.  This will become clearer as we start the assembly. 

Step 3.

Disassemble the artificial magnolia flower. 

Step 4.

Sew your largest chiffon circle to the ribbon.  Four tiny stitches will hold it (think north, south, east and west for the stitch location).

Step 5: The dry run.  

Before making any more stitches, do a "dry run" for your flower layers.  Alternate between the tulle/chiffon circles and the petals from the magnolia flower. 
Like this: brown tulle, large petal, chiffon, large petal, ivory tulle, medium petal, brown tulle, medium petal... etc.

Keep layering until you find a configuration that you like best! 

Step 6: The stitching.

Once you know the order you want your layers to take, remove them and apply one layer at a time to the initial chiffon and make one to two stitches to hold each layer in place.  Be sure to pay attention to the direction your petals are in.  You want to rotate them each time you add them to the brooch, so that the petals are more natural looking and not stacked one on top of the other. 

Step 7: The small ribbon petals.

Using your smaller, shimmery ribbon, make several loops of the ribbon to make it look like a flower or a small bow.  Keep this small, it will be the center of your flower and should be smaller than the smallest petals. Then make a few small stitches in the center to hold all of the loops in place. Then attach this piece to the center of the brooch flower. 

Step 8:  The Beads.

For the beading pull your needle through the flower so that a knot secures the thread in the back and the thread is to the top of the flower.  Thread 4-5 beads (depending on the bead size and the look you are going for) on to the needle pulling them all the way down the thread until they are touching the flower.  Once the desired number of beads are on the thread (in this case 5) pull the needle through the flower, making a stitch and creating a looping effect with the beads.  Pull the needle back up from the bottom of the flower and repeat step 8 for as many beaded loops as possible. 

Step 9:  The wrap up.

Once the flower is complete, you can add a feather by hot gluing it in place or stitching it (not pictured).  You can use a pearl headed pin to secure the brooch in place or sew on a brooch pin on the back. 

You can take what you want from these directions and make a brooch that is all your own!