Making 3-D Flowers
In this blog you find the description of making 3-D flowers for the Whimsical Flower Garden Quilt.
The 3D flowers are fixed last onto the quilt when the quilt is completely finished.
The 3-D flowers are backed with 1895 Hoffman Bali batiks, ‘glued’ together with a fusible web (e.g.Steam-A-Seam ® ). The shapes of the leaves are stiffened with a fabric stiffener or starch.
Materials: Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 by The Warm Company
Fabric Stiffener e.g. Odif Fabric Booster or Starch
Backing fabric for flowers, Watercolor Bali Batiks by Hoffman Fabrics in matching colors
Styrofoam or Foam Board for pinning 3-D flowers in shape
Optional: Teflon Sheet of Baking Paper
Step-by-Step instructions
Follow the Step-by-Step instructions below.
1) Choose a suitable flower for 3-D. Place (4) pins about 1/2 “ around the flower on the right side of the fabric.
2) At the wrong side of the fabric, measure the size marked by the pins.
3) Cut out a piece of Steam-A-Seam as measured in step 2. Peel off the paper side* of the Steam-A-Seam and place it on the wrong side of the fabric. Use the pins for the correct position. Once the Steam-A-Seam is in place, take out the pins from the front. Iron the Steam-A-Seam in place, following the manufacturer’s directions.
4) Use the paper* from the Steam-A-Seam for the size of the background fabric. Place the paper on the backing fabric (Watercolor Bali Batik). Cut around it at least 1/8” larger than the the Steam-A-Seam paper.
5) Place the backing fabric on the backside of the flower. Peel off the paper of the Steam-A-Seam and place the background fabric on top of the Steam-A-Seam. As the fabric is slightly larger than the Steam-A-Seam, your iron will not touch the glue. If prefered use a Teflon sheet or baking paper to further protect the iron.
6) Place the flower on a cutting mat and use a small rotary cutter to cut out the flower roughly, or use a pair of scissors.
7) Cut out the flower to the exact size, using a sharp pair of scissors.
8) Repeat these steps for different colors and sizes of flowers.
9) Pour some fabric stiffener into a cup and immerse the flowers in the stiffener. The more stiffeners used, the stiffer and firmer the shapes will get.
10) Place the flowers on the Styrofoam Board and form the shapes with pins. The leaves will ‘lean’ to the pins to stay in position. Once the shapes are to your liking, let dry for at least 24 hours.
11) Position the flowers on the quilt top, piece by piece. Place the 3-D flowers on the appliqued flowers. Freemotion stitch in place by following the center of the flower. As the shapes are quite tough to get through, it is not possible to pin them in place. Use the needle-down position of your sewing machine to help to fix it in place.
And now it’s time to enjoy your beautiful Whimsical Flower Garden quilt!
Oops! Something went wrong at the printer. On page 6 of the pattern, leaves #2 and #4 are shown. Leaf #4 should have been Leaf #3.
Click on the button below to download the page with the correct leaf.