Ribbon Flower Pin Tutorial

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I thought with pretty good certainty that the last corsage I would ever pin on was at Senior Prom in High School.

But I was wrong.  A few weeks ago I visited the Quilting Cottage in American Fork, Utah.  I love the Quilting Cottage, which is not only a quaint little store, but they have a wonderful selection of fabrics.  While there, I spoke with Wendy, one of the women who works there…

She was making ribbon flower pins for an upcoming wedding.  The fabric flowers look a lot like the ones they sell at Anthropologie, but hers are a fraction of the cost.  They were so darling I would happily wear one.

Wendy was kind enough to teach me how to make these fabulous fabric flower pins.  Here’s what you need:

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  • 2-4 yards of wire ribbon (depending on how large and tight you want your flower) (I used one and 1/2 inch wide ribbon.)
  • quilting thread or other strong thread
  • small amount of felt
  • hair clip or pin (or both)

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1.  Pull on the wire of one side of the ribbon to ruffle.  Ruffle the entire length of your piece of ribbon.  Not all wire ribbon is the same.  Some are more fragile, so pull gently.  Leave a few inches  wire hanging out from the ends, but clip away the rest to get it out of your way.

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2.  To start, fold your ribbon back on forth a few times (on the side of ribbon which you’ve just pulled the wire).  Using quilting thread run a stitch through the ribbon several times to secure.

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3.  Start wrapping the ribbon around.  Secure each wrap by stitching all the way through the layers in a star pattern.

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4.  Once it is large enough to be difficult to stitch through all the layers, secure by stitching to the previous layer.

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5.  When you come to the end of the ribbon, fold the the corner of ribbon back inside to hide the raw edge.  Stitch into place.  Cut off any excess wire hanging out of the ends. IMG_3148

6.  Cut a circle out of felt to cover the back of the flower.  I cut a second layer of felt in a wide strip and secured it with a zigzag on each side.  That way I could easily slip in onto a hair clip or a pin.

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7.  Stitch the felt into place on the back of the flower using a blind stitch.

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I love how this flower pin turned out.  I used 4 yards of fabric for this flower, and made it fairly dense.  It looks just like the peonies blooming in my garden right now.  And it was fast and easy… my kind of one evening project.  I’m off to make several more as gifts right now…

Check out my Felt Poinsettia Flower Pin tutorial as well.


96 Comments

  1. It is so pretty in this yellow ribbon. Suzanne that works at Quilting Cottage lived in Alpine for many many years (I miss her being my neighbor). Old friends down there.

    • Hi Sara,
      I saw your post on this website and was wondering how you make your flowers? I’m trying to make vintage brooches to pin on my bags I’m making for Christmas. I’m a beginner sewer as well.
      thank you,
      Kristen
      Livermore, ca

  6. Simply gorgeous!!.. I added to my other flower tutes because it’ looks sooooo beautiful. Thanks for the tutorial.

  7. Just discovered this post and your blog through Twitter, I love it and can’t wait to spend some time here. Only two weeks ago, I bought just such a hair clip from Anthro so how tickled am I to learn how to make more “all by myself” (as little kids say with glee)!

    Thank you for a beautiful tutorial. :)

  8. That is so pretty!! I wish I had time to make all the lovely things I find online. This flower is definitely high on my “to Do” list!

    Thank you for sharing!

  12. This couldn’t have been posted at a better time. Today I went looking for instructions on how to make ribbon flowers and here you have one that looks pretty much exactly like what I was looking for. I think they remind me more of snowball bush flowers, but that might be because those are among my favorite flowers.

  14. i used to make these when i was a teenager, i was wanted to make some the other day and my mind was a complete blank, so excited to see it again. urs is beautiful, i want to make them as buttoniers for my wedding, be blessed and keep the good things coming
    kat

  18. LOVE, LOVE, L O V E I T !
    was clening out my wire ribbon…….on my deck to give away!
    gonna try your flower……i have severe arthritis so may or may
    not be successful. THANK YOU

  20. Great directions. Would you have any idea where you can buy the metal clips with both a pin and a clip on the back?

  22. This is gorgeous…I’m searching for how to make some ribbon flowers and having such a difficult time…
    These are just perfect, but I don’t understand the direction — a video would be much easier to follow.

    Maybe consider one? ;^)

  26. Wow that’s so pretty!! I cannot wait to try one for myself. Thanks for sharing this project! Well done! :)

  29. Sorry, but I’m not clear….which side of the ribbon am I stitching? The ruffled side where I pulled the wire, or the other side?

  30. It’s lovely! Could you please give me a sense of the dimensions? I love the idea of making barettes, but I have no sense of scale. :) Thanks for sharing!

    • The yellow flower I made was close to 4 inches wide, but I’ve made them smaller using less ribbon and closer to 3 inches for a hair clip. I have even stitched a large crystal bead into the center, which looked great. Cheers, Calli

  35. i love the flower, but i can’t seem to figure something out. it keeps turning into a wrinkly rose-type thing. do you sew the pulled-wire ruffled side or the flat side?

    • Hi Michelle, you sew the pulled-wire, ruffled side. The flower really takes shape the more you sew. Once I am done, I really fuzz with the wire on the top of the ribbon to get it just how I like it. I’ve also found each flowers look a bit different depending on the ribbon. I hope that helps. cheers, Calli

  36. OMG I really want to make these right now!! But it seems a lot harder than your tutorial shows… I’m not sure I can pull it off. I will give it a try!!!

  37. May I suggest using an organza wired ribbon instead. It would look much more delicate and there is a wide range of flower coloured organza around. Have fun experimenting.

  40. Is there any way you could make a video of this? I’ve tried to make this a few times and I just don’t seem to get it quite right. Thanks.

    • Hi Grace, I will see if I can. I don’t have access to a video recorder, but let me do some checking. What part is giving you trouble? Maybe I can help. best, Calli

  43. they are little beautes indeed,but try them in two tone or ombre colored ribbon you will be pretty amaized too.good luck

  44. I am so excited to find this. I got invited to my first Kentucky Derby party and need to wear a hat but they are so expensive. I’m going to attempt to make one but I couldn’t find any flowers. This beatiful peony will be perfect. I hope it comes out as beautifully as yours!

  45. Gorgeous! I love the way you can make these to match any color palette! On my to do list for a bride to be!
    Thank you for sharing this amazing project!

  46. This is the easiest fabric flower to make of all the ones I’ve found online. Great photos. Thanks for sharing! I’m posting a how to on my blog for using scraps of fabric to make flowers – using a lighter or mini torch.

  47. 12 feet of ribbon! Wow
    It’s so pretty! I noticed fabric flowers are being sold at various clothing stores today; using similar designs as others. I think it’s become a trend. J.Crew for example is selling sashes with flowers like these and are very pretty, but are $35. My sister liked it and so I’m going to make her one. She was going to buy it until she saw the price, won’t be a prob now! Thanks

  54. I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to let you know that I have been making these like crazy in all sorts of colors and sizes! So easy, pretty and fun!

  56. Sweet! I made a couple of these and gave them to my 14 yr old sister for her birthday (sewn on headbands). She loved em! Thanks!

  57. This is absolutely gorgeous ! Great blog I love it.

    I couldn’t wait to try to make these peonies but I could not find such a nice ribbon, would you have a store to recommend ?
    Thanks a lot !

    • Thanks! I purchased the ribbon in the tutorial from Michael’s. Finding nice ribbon there is very hit and miss though. I’ve found nice ribbon at boutique type shops as well. Good luck in your search! cheers, Calli

  59. I Just love the look and feel of your site!.. good work on making ribbon flower. it is my favorite hobby as well and love to make fabric roses

    AaRiya
    stay at home mom of a toddler

  60. Hi

    This flower is just very lovely. The tutorial is very good. thank you. I tried following the steps but the flower just didn’t come out as frilly as yours ToT… Do you know why? Please help..

  63. This turned out so beautiful! Would love to try this!
    Just one question: Is this ribon with onyl one wire? I live in Europe and most of the wired ribbon here has two wires. Or did you only take out one of the wires?
    Thanks for the great tutorial!

    • My ribbon had wire on both sides. I left the ribbon on one side untouched. I pulled the wire on the other side to gather the ribbon. (You pull it, but don’t pull it out, just clip away the excess. The wire on the other side is nice for shaping your flower. I hope that helps! cheers, Calli

  67. I don’t understand what you mean by ‘star’ stitching it? can you try to explain that in more detail? Sorry….I guess I”m slow. :)

    • Hi Valerie, No, no you are not slow. Think of it like an asterisk. You are stitching through all the layers, from one side to the other, through the center like an asterisk. Do this until it’s too difficult, then move on to step 4. Let me know if that’s clearer. Good luck, Calli

  68. Hello- I’ve just started looking at Tutorials,& just loved this flower! I’ve looked at a lot,& found this to be easy enough to try. I started ok, but as I went on it wasn’t looking anything like yours.I decided to finish it anyway.The flower was tight, it didn’t open full as yours.I had to play with it quite a bit,& got a tight rose, not like yours at all.Am I winding it too tight? I don’t know what a STAR stitch is. I ended up stitching each turn to the last one,rather than stitching all th way across.The turned ribbon was not making a lg. cicle like yours. Please tell me what the name of your ribbon is. Is it silk? Perhaps my ribbon wasn’t soft enough. I hope you will help me,as I so want to make this Flower.
    Thank you very much
    Margaret Martin
    British Columbia, Canada

    • A when I say stitch in star pattern, it’s not an official stitch, it means the stitches pass through the middle like an asterisk. As for the type of ribbon. It was neither stiff nor super floppy with a slight texture to it like grosgrain. I have made ribbon pins out of other types of wire ribbon and they all take on a slightly different personality depending, but were still pretty. I purchased my yellow ribbon at Michaels and I’ve seen it and similar ribbon there since. I hope that helps.

  73. […] would feel special putting on this apron?  You could even complete gift by adding a matching Ribbon Flower Pin like I did.  Flower pins are also a quick and easy project. Picture from Barbara Brandenburg's […]

  74. Thank you for this tutorial its inexpensive, easy, and quick, I added some tule to my rose by sewing it in while rolling, thank you for this easy idea, Im going to put my rose on a newborn headband for my daughter who is due in November :)

  76. Thank you so much for the tutorial! I love the flower and I’m going to make one for my prom and a couple for my friends.
    Instead of sewing on the felt backing though, I used hot glue. Not as pretty as your sewing, but a lot easier.
    Thanks again :)

  77. IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

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