how to make flower stamens

How to make flower stamens

decorative stamensStamens make the heart of an art flower. They draw attention to its core. That’s why it is so important to get the size, the colour, the shape and even the quantity of your stamens right when creating your blooms, whether out of fabric or leather.

There are a wide variety of stamens, very realistic as well as stylised ones that are available to purchase. You can check out the current availability in our online shop here. Today, however, we are going to explore another option.

how to make flower stamens 1

Did you know you could make your own flower stamens to be used in fabric and leather flowers in case you do not have access to factory made or for some reason they are not suitable for your project?
Often tiny stamens for small and blooms can be difficult to obtain. That’s why today I am showing how to make very small stamens similar to those most roses have. You can also use them for cherry blossom, apple blossom and other small flowers.

 

What you’ll require  is some PVA glue (or other stiffener), thick cottonhow to make flower stamens 3

thread and  some acrylic paint in brown , yellow or other suitable colour.

 

 

First, the thread needs to be stiffened. That will give it some body and let the stamens hold the shape in a flower once assembled. You can starch it or use your preferred stiffener. I simply cover a length of thread with PVA. To do that apply a blob of glue on your index finger and run the thread between the index finger and thumb to coat with glue as shown.

 

how to make flower stamens

 

 

To make sure the stiffened thread dries straight I like using a weight and hang it to dry (I am using a large wooden star as a weight in the photo). Because you will need to make a considerable amount of small stamens for each flower, try hanging several long threads at a time and leave them to dry.

 

 

Once the threads are dry and stiff (if you use PVA it dries rather quickly), cut them

how to make flower stamens

up into individual stamens. The standard length of a double sided stamen strand is around 5 cm, but you can always adjust the length to suit your project and make them either shorter or longer.

 

 

 

Now squeeze out some acrylic paint onto a piece of card, fold a piece of thread in half and dip the  tips into the paint. To get  enough paint onto the tips try dipping a couple of times. The thicker the thread the more paint will stick to it and stay on the tips.

how to make flower stamens

 

 

 

I am using a very thin thread here so the drops of paint on the tips are quite small after one dip. For more impact please use a thicker thread (and / or more paint).

 

 

Now the freshly made stamens need to dry. I am using an improvised rack created by placing a couple of thick wires across ahow to make flower stamens box or a box lid (pictured). Simply hang the stamens in rows over the wires and leave them to dry completely. Make sure to space the stamens well apart to prevent them from sticking to each other when the paint is still wet. In a couple of hours  you have got your handmade stamens ready to be used.

 

 

 

Now you know how to make flower stamens. However, this by no means is the only way of making flower stamens. We might be exploring other options in our forthcoming  blog posts and tutorials.

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Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below you will find some tutorials that cover the use of different stamens in flower making.

 

My leather rose tutorial for HATalk e-magazine

Leather Rose Tutorial (intermediate)

Leather English Rose Tutorial (advanvced)

Leather Wild Rose Tutorial (beginner)

introduction to leather flower making ebook

 

 

Just to let you know...

Our Introduction to Leather Flower Making ebook is out now and available for immediate download after purchase. 
Learn the basics about working with leather to start making exquisite leather flowers of your own to match any project at hand.

 

 

You are well aware that I make flowers not only out of fabric but out of genuine leather too.

In November 2014 I took part in a millinery contest devoted to the First World War Centenary organised by HATalk Social. To express the theme of Remembrance I created a leather button hat with large bright red leather poppies (on the left). The judges were favourable enough to award me the second place out of 100+ contestants from all over the world. Needless to say I was thrilled! Not only have I won some hat blocks but also I have been asked to contribute to their ezine by offering a leather flower tutorial to the subscribers of HATalk monthly e-publication.
This months saw the release of the first part of my exclusive leather rose tutorial that is shown in the picture below.

PresentPerfect

If you have all the necessary equipment for fabric flower making but have never tried making leather flowers I think you should give it a go. Leather flowers require less manipulations but due to the nature of material look as equally (if not more!) impressive as the silk ones. Besides, they are a good robust trimming alternative for those colder months when thin transparent fabrics look a bit out of place.

leather corsage tutorial

If you have not yet invested into a set of tools but would really like to have a go at making flowers why not try leather blooms? The thing is, leather is such a luxurious and beautiful material to work with that often you do not need to do much before you turn it into a lovely flower. Hand shaping combined with the use of a pair of tweezers can create beautiful as well as pretty realistic flowers. 

We are happy to offer a number of leather flower making tutorials that require no millinery tools, on Wild Leather Rose Brooch on Leather Sunflower Headband and on Leather Poppy Choker. They are a good point to start from if you want to explore leather flower making without the need to invest in a set of millinery tools. Moreover, in these tutrorials you will learn how to make 3 different types of accessories (a brooch, a headpiece and a choker).
Flower making kits are available separately. Click on the photos of the tutorials for more information.
 

I have a schedule packed with more forthcoming leather flower tutorials, so if this topic is of interest to you do subscribe to my updates below and be the first to leather poppy flower tutorialknow about new tutorials. As my subscriber you will have a chance to purchase them with an attractive discount too!

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FLOWER MAKERS' UPDATES&OFFERS

You might also like these articles:

NO TOOL flower making tutorials for beginners

Choosing the right glue for making flowers

How I choose leather for making flowers