no tool flower making tutorials for beginners

NO TOOL flower making tutorials for beginners

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shaping fabric flower petals without the use of tools 8NO tool flower making tutorials for beginners: are there any?

I am well aware of the fact that not every flower making artist (especially a beginning one) has got a set of traditional millinery tools to shape flower petals and leaves. Although this does cause serious restrictions with regards to the techniques that can be used and the final results that can be obtained, there are several methods that could be successfully applied without the use of tools and help make certain flowers. There are several no tool flower making tutorials for beginners too.
Here on my blog I am explaining how you can shape petals using a so called cold shaping method. This method works great for such flowers as peonies, poppies, irises etc.

 

Then of course there is a whole branch of flower making that uses artificial fabrics and their qualities. These fabrics can be singed
on the flame of a candle to be shaped into petals and leaves. This technique cannot be used for natural fabrics as they simply burn in the flame. To learn more about this technique and make a bright poppy brooch please check out our Fabric Poppy Brooch Tutorial here.

 

silk dandelion clock tutorial cover

 

Luckily some fabric flowers do not require tools simply due to their nature and the way they are. This is the case with Silk Dandelion Clock Brooch. Yes, you’ve got it right, to make a dandelion clock out of pure silk you do not need any millinery tools. We do use tools to shape the foliage in the tutorial, so if you wish you can get those tools from our website (hurry as the offer is very limited). Otherwise feel free to omit the tooling.

 

 

 

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.

 

leather sunflower broochWe are happy to offer 3 leather flower making tutorials that require no millinery tools, on Wild Leather Rose leather poppy flower tutorialBrooch , 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.
leather grape tutorial
One of our latest no-tool leather tutorials in on the Leather Grapes. Again, using only your hands and some specialist techniques you can create a beautiful bunch of grapes in a variety of  colours and sizes to be used as a brooch, a hat trim or another accessory.
To learn more about the Leather Grape Tutorial click here

 

 

 

 

 

silk and lace butterfly tutorial

If you wish to work with more unusual material like lace, the iconic tutorial on Lace and Silk Butterfly can be a good one to explore. Although butterfly wings can be shaped with millinery  tools (and there’s a BONUS on how to do this), the butterfly in the picture can be made without the use of tools. DIY kits for the lace and silk butterfly are also available and sold separately. To learn more about the Lace and Silk Butterfly Tutorial click here.

 

I hope you will find some of these no tool flower making tutorials for beginners useful. Feel free to share photos of you finished pieces with us ☺

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leather for making flowers

How I choose leather for making flowers

by | posted in: leather flower, leather gift, leather jewelry, suede flower, tutorial leather flower | 5

leather hides
As I’ve always said cold months is that period of the year when leather flowers outshine fabric ones. Amongst other reasons I would mention at least the following two:

❀ leather is a more durable material and flowers made of leather are more weather-resistant than silk ones

❀ leather and suede flowers nicely complement winter wardrobe pieces made of thick warm fabrics and wool, accentuate hats, bags and boots.

At the moment I am working on a new tutorial which will be released later this week. As the tutorial is on a leather flower, I thought I’d share some useful tips on how to choose leather for making flowers the way I do it for mine.

In order to create leather blooms (the way I show in my tutorials) we use only genuine leather or suede. No synthetic substitutes can withstand the heat of a flower iron when flowers are being shaped. Moreover, faux leather does not possess the level of flexibility and suppleness needed for making our gorgeous blooms.

first leather rose video course
MY FIRST LEATHER ROSE VIDEO COURSE

It is best to work with good quality materials. This way you will enjoy the process of creation and the final piece will show class. However, good quality does not have to cost the earth.

Leather comes in grades. There are several grades of leather, sometimes marked as Grade 1 or Grade A etc.  the smaller the number the higher the quality (Grade A is higher quality than Grade C). Because petals and leaves are relatively small compared to, say, garment parts, we  do not necessarily have to use leather skins of higher grades. Lower grades as as well as smaller pieces of leather will work just fine.

For leather or suede flowers only thin and soft skins are recommended. The best thickness is 0.5-0.8 mm (1-2 oz in weight), but you can use skins up to 1 mm thick (for certain flowers). Ideally look for lambskins and goat skins  that are suitable foe clothing or glove making (gloving leather).how to choose leather

Sometimes I use pig suede. Although it is a bit on a thicker side and can be uneven, the wide range of rich colours it comes in makes it difficult to resist.

Leather and suede have different finishes. This variety of finishes is used to enhance the natural beauty of leather. The most common ones are aniline, pigmented, patent, metallic, oily, waxy, suede and nubuck. Leathers with different finishes will behave differently when stiffened and shaped to be turned into a flower piece.

Unlike silk leather is much less predictable. That is why it is virtually impossible to recreate a leather flower again. It will be different and for me that is the advantage of working with leather. Creating leather flowers is always a journey into the unknown. No need to worry, the outcome is always uniquely beautiful.

I hope this information will help you choose the right leather for your flowers and enjoy the process of creation even more.

PHOTO TUTORIALS on LEATHER FLOWERS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

 

tutorial banner

 

We also offer individual workshops on leather flowers, so if you are interested please click through for more information.