Friday, November 11, 2011

Flower Magnet Tutorial

Welcome to another fun tutorial! Last time we made magnet boards, this time we're going to make something you can put on a magnet board...some flower magnets!

Normally I'd just make some fabric covered button magnets to use with the magnet boards.


These are so easy, you just use the fabric covered button kits from your local craft store, break off the metal loop on the back, and glue a magnet there instead.

But I got a request from someone on Etsy to make flower magnets, and we both loved the result!

So, here is what you'll need...




*Fabric (these are perfect for using up tiny scraps!)
*Needle and thread
*Magnets
(I just used some round ceramic magnets, on the package the strength says 6 out of 10...they are pretty strong!)
*Buttons
*Glue
(I used Krazy glue, but hot glue would likely work just as well)
*Flower template (I just drew a 6 petal flower, about 2 inches wide, on some cardstock and cut it out. Doesn't need to be perfect!If that scares you though, you can always find some clipart that will work as a template, something like this.)


First you'll want to iron your fabrics so they're nice and crisp. I pretty heavily starched mine as well, makes them much easier to handle while cutting.

Then, take your flower template

and trace onto the back of your fabric.


Yes, I'm bad and use a regular old pen, but when I have a working fabric pen close by I'll use that too. ;-)

I usually trace once, and then try to fold the fabric as much as I can so that one cut yields several flowers. Here I folded it once...

and then twice.


Cut your flowers out.


You'll need 5 flowers per magnet, one will be the base, and the other 4 are going to be folded on top to create some texture. The 4 folded ones I usually cut every two "petals" so that there is a bit more movement.

The base one is left uncut.

You'll see that with the pink flowers, I'm using two different fabrics to add a little bit of depth, one for the base and then two of each fabric for the folded part.


For the yellow flowers, I just used the same fabric, so feel free to play around and see what you like. :-)

Fold each flower in half, and place two of them side by side, like so:

Place these on top of your base flower.

Then take another folded flower, and slip it under one of them.

Take the other folded flower, and slip it under the other one on the opposite side.

This is your basic flower, now you just need to sew it together. You're going to take your needle and thread, and make sure you grab onto each petal with it.

Side note: I saw a great tip somewhere on how to start a thread easily without having to manually tie a knot, and I wish I could find it again but I can't! Basically, just wrap the thread a few times around the needle, kind of grab the wrapped needle with the fabric, push the needle through, squeezing the looped thread with your fingers, and when you pull the thread tight that should give you a nice knot on the back to start your sewing job. It's much easier to understand with pics, but hopefully that helps a little.

Alright, so make sure to sew through each petal.


Once you're sure the petals are secure, add a button...

or two. :-)

Secure your thread on the back

and you're done sewing! You should have a lovely little flower.

Now all that is left is gluing it to a magnet. I used krazy glue, because I'm not so great with the glue gun!

I just put a good amount on the magnet

and then applied pressure for a good 20-30 seconds.

Once I could see it was sticking well, I stuck it on a metal surface, flower side down, so that the magnet is kind of helping to apply pressure to the glue while it dries. Leave it there so the glue sets nicely while you make other flowers. ;-)

And that's it, you're done! :-)


These went on a lovely floral magnet board, I think they make the flowers look like they are popping off the print!

Soooo many possibilities for scraps! These are fast and easy, and oh so pretty. Hope you enjoy making them as much as I do, go wild! :-)



3 comments:

Regina Wade said...

SO cute! And perfect for fabric scraps. I'm going to add this to my list of random things to try. :D

Grace said...

These are so cue! Thanks for the tut.:) Do the edges fray at all?

Stephanie said...

I find that a lot of starch actually helps them to fray less, but even then they do fray a little depending on the fabric. I think that just adds a little shabby chic charm. :-)