Rosette & Headband Tutorial

I've been seeing these fabric rosettes popping up all over the place and decided I needed to learn how to make them when I saw this pillow by dwellstudio for Target. I looked at quite a few tutorials online, as well as purchased the pillow so I could see how they made/attached theirs. (I would link to those tutorials, except I took screen shots of the blog posts & now have no idea where they were located!! Sorry!!) Between all of it, I took a little bit from here and a little from there, and figured out a way that works well for me.

If you'd like to try your hand at it, here you go!!



Start with a strip of fabric that is about 4 inches wide. Here, I'm using an unbleached cotton muslin, so I cut into the fabric about 2 inches away from the cut edge and then tore the fabric the rest of the way across, making that edge "thread perfect." Then 4 inches over, I cut & tore again, giving me my 4 inch wide strip.



Fold the strip in half and press with an iron. This doesn't need to be too precise, so don't worry if your edges don't match perfectly.

Open the strip back up and, working down one side, fold the edge to the middle and press. Again, you don't have to match things up precisely.



Repeat on the other side.



Lastly, fold back in half and press one more time.



I like to do quite a few at a time so I have my strips ready whenever the urge to make a rosette hits me. (mostly when I'm watching TV or should be cleaning the house. . .)

Now you're ready to start twisting!

Here's the tricky part, and my disclaimer. From here, some of the tutorials I looked at had you wrap the fabric around a pencil or something like that. I liked having more control over it than that, but at the same time, things can get more unpredictable, so be patient and use lots of pins!!! :)



Take one end and twist it a bit so a few inches are twisted somewhat tightly into a rope. Then, start rolling it onto itself like a cinnamon roll, pinning often to keep secure.



Continue twisting, wrapping and pinning, gradually allowing your twisted rope to get looser and looser.



Continue until desired size or until you run out of fabric. :)

Secure the last flap of fabric to the back of the rosette. In the center of the rose, lightly pull your starting edge toward the back as well so that you can tack it down, too.



With a needle & thread, (and a thimble if you have one!!) start sewing! Stitch the layers together where they overlap, being careful not to let your stitches show on the front side. I like to start on the outside and work my way in, and run my needle all the way through the center "bud" several times, coming at it from several directions to ensure that it is secure.

Again, I read several tutorials that skipped this sewing step and instead opted to pull out the hot glue gun and some felt. I have a tendency to over-do things, so I don't really trust hot glue over the long run. I worry that over time the rosette will pull away from the felt. However, I do wish I could do things the "simple" way, so if you dread a needle and thread, perhaps the hot glue gun is the way to go!! (Unless you're my Mom. Then please, please, please stay away from the hot glue. You don't need the burns, nor the hot glue strings all over!!)



Now your rosette is complete, ready for all sorts of applications! I'm going to make a headband with mine though.



Cut a circle of felt about the size of your rosette. Also cut a 1 inch strip of felt the same length as your circle. Center and pin the strip to your felt circle. Stitch 1/4 inch from each side of the strip, securing to the circle, while leaving the ends open. (Alter the width if necessary to accommodate your headband of choice.)

Now, I know I just said I don't really trust hot glue, but I can't figure out a way around it! You could hand stitch your felt circle to the rosette, but then you'd have a lot of stitches that wouldn't look polished, could snag on something and wouldn't be as tight as I feel is necessary. So, pull out your hot glue gun!! :)

Put the glue on to the bottom of the rosette, not getting too close to the edges, but making sure to get pretty good coverage elsewhere. Place the felt circle with the sewn on strip facing down, onto the rosette, pressing into the glue to secure.



(This step is how I justify the hot glue!) Using your zipper foot, with the rosette facing up, sew around the perimeter of the rose, pulling back the layer of fabric directly above so that you can hide your stitches underneath, being careful not to sew the edges of the channel you made with the strip of felt closed. But, if you do, I think that's what a seam ripper is for. (And just so you know, I sewed mine closed the first time. Oops!)

(If this step sounds a bit over-kill to you, feel free to skip it. :) Remember, I like to over-do things.)



Trim your felt close to your stitches, making sure that you cannot see any of the felt from the top of the rosette.



Slip your headband in, and:



There you go! One very impressive headband!

This particular rose is quite large, so yours probably won't look this big on your headband. Also, experiment with all different colors, fabrics and if you want to have your rosettes fray a bit, cut your fabric to 2 inches, fold in half and start twisting! So many possibilities!!!

Also, if you love the look, but aren't quite the do-it-yourself-er, never fear! I will soon be listing these headbands in my etsy.com shop. (Didn't know I had one of those, did you?) I've decided it has sat unused long enough and will get things going very soon! I'll let you know for sure when it gets populated, but if you don't trust me and want to check for yourself, here's the link. One day, it will have more than rosettes and headbands, but I've got to start somewhere or I'll never start at all!

Have fun twisting and Please!! If you give these rosettes a try, send me pictures of your creation! I'd love to see them!!

xoxo—Lori

Let me know if you have questions too in the case I didn't make a step clear or whatever!