Friday 10 December 2010

Poinsettia Napkin Ring Tutorial

At last here I am, back in full swing and armed with a tutorial :D This year I wanted something pretty and handmade for the dining table so I came up with these cute felt napkin rings. This is a really easy tutorial (just the way I like them), easier than it looks with just a little bit of hand sewing, it doesn't have to be neat as all the sewing is hidden from view.....so get some felt and have some fun with it.

Here is your templates, you will need to cut (for each napkin ring):

x1 Yellow centre flower
x5 Red small petals
x5 Red large petals
x5 Dark red petals
x3 Green large petals (leaves)
x1 Green backing circle
x1 Green napkin strap
Materials:

Scissors
Fabric marker
Beads
(Follow the links for a fantastic shop where you can buy some lovely felt and ribbon :D paper-and-string)
Cut out all your pieces in your chosen felt

Take your 5 large red petals and fold in half to the point.

And sew a couple of stitches about 1 cm from the base of the petals.

You will end up with 5 large petals with a crease in the middle like above. You only need to do this with the 5 large red petals the others will be sewn flat.

Position your petals in a star shape on your backing circle, the edges of your petals should be just touching.

Double thread your needle, take each petal and sew them to the backing circle.

It should look something like this :)

Take your dark red petals and place in between the red petals, the centre of the green backing circle should only just be visible so you may need to place the base of the dark red petals closer to the centre.

One by one stitch to the backing circle, it should now look something like this.

Now take your 5 small red petals and place them in between the dark red petals (see I told you this was easy!!) If you make your thread long enough you can just continue to sew all the petals to the backing circle without having to stop.

Now it should be looking like a pretty flower.

Don't worry if the back looks messy like this, you wont be seeing any of this stitching. Great huh!!??

Take your yellow centre flower and place in the centre of your poinsettia, make sure its centred and that it covers the small gap of the flower.

Next take your beads (and a beading needle if needed) and sew a cluster of them in the centre of the yellow flower.

It should now look like this.....isn't it pretty :D would make a lovely Christmas brooch, just add another circle to cover the stitching on the back and add a brooch pin....et voila, two tutes for the price of one.

Turn over your flower and sew your 3 green petals (which are actually leaves) to the edge of the backing circle approx 1cm from the edge.
Now take your napkin strap, fold the bottom edge up and the top edge down so that you have folded it into thirds (does that make sense?) and pin in place.

Cut a strip of ribbon 32 cm and then cut in half, these will be your ties for the napkin ring. Take one of the pieces of ribbon and slot the end in one of the open ends of the napkin strap.

Sew a couple of stitches to secure in place.

Using the same strand of thread sew a running stitch from end to end securing the fold in place. Make sure you don't go all the way through to the other side as you don't want to see any stitching on the reverse.

Once you reach the other end, slot the other piece of ribbon in the open end and stitch in place. The strap should be all sewn together now so you can remove your pins.
Place your strap on the reverse of your flower with the stitching side facing up.

Double thread your needle again and sew your strap to the flower, as you can see I have sewn a small rectangle to stitch it together.

Trim both ends of your ribbon ties at an angle, this will prevent the ribbon from fraying. Turn over your flower and voila....

One Poinsettia napkin ring, made from felt by your very own hands!!!!

And depending on how many place settings you need repeat....I made 4.

Take your napkin and roll into a tube shape, tie your napkin ring ties into a bow....

Don't they look pretty, I'm so pleased with them, they really make the table look festive. I'm thinking of using the same flowers to make a centre piece.
I do hope you enjoyed this tutorial :D

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for this lovely tutorial!! So pretty & effective & so simple!!
    Will add to my favourites - I can see a brooch coming on : )
    Glad you feel better,

    Sharon xx

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  2. I love this! Very nice! I think, when I stumble across a few more hours in the day.....I might attempt a brooch. We are not a very napkin-y kind of family.

    Hope you are feeling much better now? Hugs xx

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  3. Hi Emma I'm glad you are better in time for christmas, the poinsettias are pretty!
    : )

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  4. It looks wonderful! Thanks for this tutorial! :)

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  5. I've linked to this lovely tutorial on day 17 of my blog's advent calendar, hope that is ok?

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Hi, thanks for taking the time to read my blog and leave me a comment. I love hearing your thoughts and comments.... Emma xx