Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 5

There is finally some sunshine in Belfast and since it is June I thought I should make a kanzashi that is June related.

Hydrangea flowers!

Now you can not just make one flower but a cluster of them because when have you ever seen a hydrangea flower on its own?

The minimum number I could possible make is three and I had to include some leaves as well.

The hydrangea flowers are actually made from two colours of felt as this is traditional however the flowers need a little bit more so I added a pearl centre to each of the three flowers.

Isn't it cute!

Adventures in Felt Kanzashi - Part 4

So many flowers, so little time!

This is one that has been on my list for a while for traditional tsumami kanzashi because it is a flower that I see every spring!

Well I never got round to making it in silk for some reason but I had a chance today to try it with felt!

Finally I have a daffodil!

Making a Dress - Chemise la Reine

A while ago made a ruffled french hood.

Well I brought a lot of this fabric and even though it is suppose to be used for lining, I thought it would make a nice dress.

But what sort?

Well I want something that will complement the ruffled french hood but sort of dress?  My first thought would be a lolita dress because nothing says ruffles like a lolita dress.  However I would like something with more of a historical feel so I decide to make a dress that I have been wanted to make for ages!  A chemise la reine.

It was once considered a scandalous dress because it was basically underwear but it is a dress I love the look of.  

Out comes the fabric!

Following the instructions of this website I began for making a big tube.

http://freshfrippery.com/2015/04/07/easy-chemise-dress/

Yes it is a big tube.

Now in the instructions on the website the dress remained opened at the front but this is not an option for me hence the big tube.

Now to add some channels to create the gather at the top.  Originally I wanted to use ribbon and have the gathers adjustable but that seems a little inconvenient so I decided that the best way would be to gather the front an fixe it place.  While gather the back with elastic.  This will make it easy to wear and comfortable!

Now to add some straps.

They are just simple straps because I could not be bothered to curve them.

As you can see a dress is emerging!  Now the sleeves.

I wanted a big puffy sleeves as it seems appropriate for the style of dress.

One sleeve on!

And finally the second sleeve with a  ribbon to show the waist.

Not bad for a dress in a day and without the ribbon it can be worn as a comfy lounge wear.

Adventures in felt kanzashi - Part 3

So far my adventures in felt have led me to make the following.

Now to make a flower that I always lived the look.  Iris!

I love the colour purple and something about the rotational symmetry is very pleasing to my mathematical mind.

Luckily I ordered a selection of coloured felt as making irises requires three colours, purple, yellow and green.

As normal, I cut the require amount and set about creating the iris.

Unlike the other flowers once the three large base petals are attached, the remaining petals all require a gentle touch.  This is due to the fact that each set of three is essentially balancing on each other.  However I have been making tsumami kanzashi since 2007 and this has taught me that with a steady hand and patience nothing is impossible and within no time this little blossom came into existence.

Is it not sweet!

Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 2

Now that I made a white rose and plum blossom I thought the next step would be to make something in a different colour.

So off to my local fabric store and I brought myself some baby pink felt.

Mmmmmm soft and fuzzy!

I had a busy week at work so I had to make these during the weekend but look at them.

The rose just perfect and my plum blossom got turned into a sakura or cherry blossom.

Well could not resist.  Pink fabric and flowers in my world implies sakura blossoms.

Adventures in felt kanzashi - part 1

For a while I had a thought of making kanzashi using different materials.

Obviously silk and cotton are the perfect choice but there must be other fabric that one can try.  Then it dawned on me, how about felt?  It is easy to cut and fold but it will create a lovely soft finish.

Differently need to give this a try so out comes my white stash and after cutting the require amount to play with here it is!

I had to tweak the rose design a little to accommodate the felt thickness but it has indeed create a kanzashi the has a soft look.

As I had to tweak the design, there was spare felt for me to try another flower.

A simple ume or plum blossom.

I think I will enjoy working with felt!