Serendipity Sunday–Flowers Yet Again

I’m determined to get the hang of folding Kanzashi and I might have made some progress today.

I did some checking on the ‘net and some of the tutorials I found say to stitch the ends that are folded to the center.  So, I tried that and although it makes things more fiddly, it sure did seem to help.

Now, this is more like it!  The red petals are 2.5-inch and the white-on-white is 2.75-inch.  The white is a stiffer cotton and this rounded petal worked very nicely.

I wanted to try some different fabrics, like these kimono silks.  The pieces I have are very small, so this is made with 1.5-inch squares.  Oh my!  What a chore this was!  This fabric is prone to slipping and sliding, yet has a definite grain line that must be respected.  In the end, though, it makes a charming little flower, and I’m happy with the result.

I wonder how chiffon works.  One drawback to this particular fabric is that it has a very low melting point.  That means none of the folds could be pressed.  But the 3-inch size wasn’t too difficult.  I’m not sure what possessed me to try this at 1.5-inch!!  It was a struggle, believe me!  In the end, I poured out a little puddle of glue and dipped the blunt ends into it as I folded each petal.  I had to keep shaping them as the glue dried and then it was a bit on the stiff side to string then together.  But there it is . . . and likely to be the only one I ever make!  Especially since my typical glue process involves getting it all over myself and the work surface! 

And here are today’s flowers all together.  There are still some other fabrics I want to try . . . a different weight silk, some sateen, maybe a knit.  The book also has projects using denim and leather (or vinyl).  I think the denim is workable, but I’m not sure about leather.  We’ll have to see how brave I am next week!

One thing I know.  After working with those tiny pieces of chiffon, regular cotton is going to be a breeze!