How to Make Primitive Fabric Sunflowers

Learn how to make these cute primitive fabric sunflowers. They are fun and easy to create and you can use them in your home decor in an arrangement or put together with other handmade creations like the primitive crown shown below.

Materials needed:

muslin
scissors
Mark B Gone pen
needle
upholstery thread
1 small coffee can plastic lid
1 lid from pringles can or similar size
coffee stain*
cookie sheet & foil
polyester filling

*Coffee Stain
3 Tablespoons instant coffee to 1 cup hot water
2 Tablespoons vanilla
note : for grungy sunflowers add approx. 1/4 cup or more of cinnamon. Mix and let sit. After a short while the cinnamon will form a ‘sludge’ on the bottom of your pan. This sludge is what you apply to get the grungy dirty look.

Directions:

With your Mark B Gone pen, trace out 4 large circles using the larger plastic lid as your template. Trace 1 small circle with the smaller plastic lid.
Using the tracing line as your cutting line, cut out all circles.

Place the 4 larger circles on top of each other. Center the small circle over these and pin in place.

Thread needle with upholstery thread, knot and come up under the small circle to hide the knot. Begin basting the small circle, being sure to go through all layers of muslin. Leave about a one inch opening to insert polyester fill.

Stuff lightly with polyester fill as shown in photo

Stitch opening closed.

With scissors, cut from outer edge of larger circles just to the beginning of the small circle, being careful not to cut through it.

Continue cutting all the way around circle.

Emerge sunflower into coffee stain, being sure to flip so both sides are soaked through. Let sit a minute or two.

Take you primitive fabric sunflower out of the stain, squeeze excess moisture out and place on foil on cookie sheet

Place cookie sheet in low oven (about 200 degrees ) to dry. Turning often so sunflowers don’t burn. When dry remove. Start pulling apart the 4 layers of ‘petals’

To finish:

You can leave primitive fabric sunflower as is, or you can grubby it up by painting on the sludge and more coffee stain and returning to oven to dry.

You can paint the puffed up inner circle with a brown paint. When dried, dry brush the edge with black paint. I added some orange and gold to this one as well.

For variety, instead of a muslin center, use homespun.

This is a sunflower & crows cheesebox light I made with my sunflowers

To make a larger sunflower you can use dinner and dessert plates as your template like I did for this sunflower nodder.

 

Tutorial submitted by Neenee of KKL Primitives