Tutorial: Felt Sunflower Dog Collar Embellishment

You may remember back in December I made a poinsettia dog collar embellishment for my Pomeranian.  At the time I made it, I realized the pattern could be easily manipulated to make the felt poinsettia into a sunflower.  Sunflowers are such beautiful flowers, don't you think?

 So, in honor of my May Flowers event, I pulled the idea for sunflower dog collar embellishments out of my brain files and put it to use!  This is what I came up with:

Of course, these scrap fabric flowers are very versatile, and while I created them as dog collar embellishments, they can be used for whatever purpose you like.  Follow the jump for the tutorial to learn how to make your own.

  Here's what you'll need:

• Green felt [for the leaves]
• Yellow, red and/or orange felt [for the flower petals]
• Small, brown glass beads and/or embroidery thread and/or brown fabric paint [for the seeds]
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• 1/2 inch elastic
• Pattern (which I borrowed from Lil Fish Studios)

Step 1:

Use the pattern to cut out one big and one little set of  petals in felt.  Use the pattern piece labeled "leaf" to cut out your flower's leaves in your green felt.  For just one flower, you should have this:

 Step 2:

Using your hot glue gun, adhere the big set of petals to the green set of leaves.  I laid mine so that the green leaves showed just a little bit.  I thought it looked more reminiscent of a real sunflower that way.

Step 3:

This is where you embellish your sunflower with "sunflower seeds."  There are a few ways of doing this.  I tried four different methods that I'll share with you.  You might think of your own, but here's what I tried.

Small glass beads:  Use thread to sew little brown or black glass beads in a circular shape on the front of your small set of leaves.  The closer together they are the more realistic they'll look.

Button:  Attach a coordinating-colored button or a brown/black button to the center of your small yellow flower petal for a simple finish.

Embroidery: Using an embroidery needle and embroidery floss, make small stitches in a spiral shape on the center of your small yellow flower.  I left gaps between each of my stitches to give the sunflower a more playful look.  I imagine each of the stitches as a "seed."  Lol.

Fabric Paint:  Use brown or black fabric paint and a small, pointed object to make a bunch of dots in a circle on the center of your small yellow flower petal.  I used the back of a paint brush, but a pencil tip, tooth pick or cotton swab would work just as well.  No need for paint dishes or trays, either.  Just take the cap off the paint and dip in your painting tool for a quick and easy clean-up. :)

Step 4:

To finish your flower, hot glue the embellished, smaller flower petals to the top of the rest of the flower.

Step 5:

To make your felt sunflower a dog collar embellishment, simply measure a bit of elastic to fit around the width of your dog's collar snugly.  Then, make a loop out of the elastic, hot glue or stitch it together, then glue the whole thing to the back of the sunflower.

 Now slide it over your dog's collar and show off your pooch!

Of course, if you don't have a dog, don't feel limited to doing it this way!  Feel free to finish your felt sunflower as a hair piece, a brooch or whatever you like.  And, of course, experiment with different colors of felt, different "seed" finishes and different sizes and amounts of petals.  I sure did!

The possibilities are endless, so get to it!  Happy crafting. :)