DIY Felt Hydrangea Bouquet

Here in Central Oregon, spring flowers are just starting to poke through the ground. We couldn't wait for them to bloom and bring a little spring cheer, so we made our own flowers. Our bouquet has the added advantages of never wilting, needing water, or activating anyone's allergies. 

Hydrangeas are always a favorite, and they look so good in fabric people think they are real. Set a knock out Easter table with a bouquet or two--or if you aren't hosting, bring a bunch as a gift. While a beautiful bouquet is always wonderful, you could also attach finished flowers to a headband, cover a tote bag in them, or add some to a pillow. 

The key to this project is high quality wool. You need the fabric to be dense enough to hold its shape but still have enough drape to look soft and flexible, like real flower petals. Our flowers are made with Sue Spargo wool. We love it for its wonderful feel and rich color.

Our Hydrangeas may look real, but they're made from wool and floral wire, with a bit of ink for shading. To make a full bouquet does take a bit of time, but is simple enough for older kids and beginning crafters. No sewing skill needed. We created a full video tutorial to walk you through each step, and put all the supplies you need together in a kit so you can't go wrong. Plus, kits cost about the same, or even less than, a single fresh flower bouquet and you won't have to throw them away after a week. 

The picture above shows the size of one completed purple hydrangea kit. Add a second kit or mix colors for a larger bouquet (like in the first picture).

Now for all the details... 

Supplies:

• Hydrangea Kit or
  • 2 - 9" x 11" quality felted wool fabric (we used Sue Spargo Wool) in two colors for each group of flowers
  • 1 - 6" x 9" piece of green felted wool fabric for leaves 
  • floral wire
  • floral tape
• hot glue
• all-purpose ink 
• paper towel

Tools:

• Sharp Scissors
• Pinking Shears
• Low Temp Glue Gun
• Wire Snips
• Round or Needle Nose Pliers
• Fantastix (to apply ink)

Once you've got all your materials together this video will lead you through the process of making your flowers one step at a time. 

In the video we show you how to free-cut each flower and leaf, but if you prefer, you can make a template to trace and then cut from. Download the template page, and trace onto a sheet of template plastic or card stock. Download the templates here.

Your last step is to gather the flowers into bunches and wrap with floral tape. Real hydrangeas grow in clusters and grouping your stems makes it easier to arrange and helps them stay put in a vase. For each kit we make four clusters of flowers. One large, one medium, and two small. To make a cluster start with a single flower and build your arrangement around it. You want to approximate a half dome shape. Start making your final arrangement with the large cluster and arrange your other clusters around it. Be sure to vary the height of your flowers when making clusters and the height of your clusters when doing your final arranging. Once you have your clusters arranged you can secure them with more tape or use a green rubber band if you want to be able to take them apart later. 

Here's a few close-ups of our finished flowers. See how subtle the inking is, but how much it adds to the look. You can also see how using two similar colors of wool gives the flowers a more natural look. 

We hope you enjoy this project. Share your finished bouquets  in our Show Us Your Stuff Facebook group or use tag #stitchinpost on Instagram.

Let us know if you liked this kit and tutorial. We have some other flower types we could offer if there is enough interest. 

Happy crafting!