Handmade Christmas Gifts: Felt Corsages 29 November 2014  |  Nicola

Last on our list of handmade gift tutorials is a simple felt corsage; bright and colourful, with plenty of ribbon and trimmings, these can be tweaked to your own design and then pinned to a coat, cardigan or bag. They make great little stocking fillers, or part of a main present for a close friend or relative.

You Will Need:

Sheets of felt in various colours

Ribbon, lace and other trimmings

Buttons

A needle and thread

Corsage backs

Sharp scissors

1. The corsage is actually made from five pieces of felt in exactly the same shape but different sizes, ranging from 100% right up to a scale of 200%. Start by finding a template of the style of flower you want to make your corsage from, and then printing it out or tracing it – this should be the smallest of the five pieces.

2. Scale your shape up gradually, from 100% to 125%, then 150% and so on, making copies as you go. You should end up with five templates of varying sizes that sit on top of each other neatly.

3. Draw round your templates onto the felt, and cut them out.

4. Choose a button for the centre, and some ribbon or trimming for the reverse, then sandwich it all together. Stitch the whole lot in place using the needle and thread, then tie the ends off carefully.

5. Add the corsage back by either stitching it in place or using a hot glue gun, and then leaving it to dry thoroughly.

There are so many ways to make these corsages your own; use clashing or complimentary felt colours, add more than one type of ribbon, consider stacking three buttons up together in the middle, cut a central scalloped circle from another sheet of felt.... the options are literally endless, and the only limit is your own imagination!