Luxury DIY leather flowers

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:47

In this workshop we will make a rose that can be used to create a brooch, headband or other decoration. For different types of colors, the skin can be used the same. The main thing is its thickness. In order to make a flower out of leather, you will need a pattern of sepals and petals. You can make it yourself or search on the Internet. An example for self-printing will be given below. Schemes are best not redrawn or photographed, but scanned so that the proportions are not distorted. Then the flower will turn out uneven.

How to choose leather to create flowers?

We start our DIY Leather Flower workshop with how to choose the right material for work. It can be of any shade, but red roses are considered classic. Some craftsmen prefer to work only with light skins for flowers. It is important to consider that, like a fabric, this material has transverse and longitudinal fibers. Therefore, somewhere it will stretch stronger, and somewhere less. Because beforework, you need to determine the direction of the fibers and find a place with an oblique guide. It is along this line that the masters of flowers cut out details from leather.

It is important to consider the location of the fibers so that the petals do not warp at the end of the work. But, if there is no possibility, and, for example, a piece of skin is very small, we cut out the details as it will. The skin is suitable haberdashery or clothing. The main guideline when buying material for creating leather flowers with your own hands is the thickness of the material. It should be 0.5-0.8 mm. There are cases when thick skin becomes thinner during processing, and a flower can be made from it, but this is an exceptional case.

Leather Tools

Continue our master class on leather flowers. Consider the features of the preparation of the workplace. The surface on which the buds will be created must be flat and firm, it is advisable to use a special mat. To soak the moistened petals, we prepare a wide lid from a plastic container or other device so that it is convenient to remove the product from it. A pattern of leather flowers, including for leaves, can be absolutely anything.

In our case, it is not necessary to use the template specifically for the rose. Usually blanks are cut the same, but it is acceptable to change the size or shape. The templates do not have wavy edges or serrations, as it is very difficult to carve such patterns into the skin. No need to transfer the drawing to the material. The pattern is done like this: a template is pressed against the skin, and a section is cut out along it. Only then can you startcut out additional ornaments and give the edges a waviness. The same goes for the leaves - after you make the blanks, you can change their shape and make a jagged edge.

Leather blanks for roses

Let's start creating flowers from leather with our own hands. We take the material, cut out the leaf, sepal and two types of petals. For one flower you will need 5 small and 5 large petals, 1 sepal and 2 leaves. The number of petals can be increased to 6 to make the flower more magnificent, and, if desired, it is permissible to make it from leather of different colors. It all depends on your imagination and ideas. Then we give the edges of some details a waviness, cutting out small areas of skin with scissors. No need to strive to make all the petals the same, then the rose will look more natural.

Skin treatment solution

For skin treatment, prepare a solution of PVA glue: 1 tsp. glue mixed with 4-5 tsp. water to the consistency of milk. It shouldn't be too thick. For each skin type, you will have to select the concentration yourself. You need to process a thin material with a thicker composition, and for a dense one, on the contrary, add a little glue to the water. Additionally, you will need a brush to work. It is best to use a flat wide brush with synthetic bristles 16 or 18 numbers.

How to treat the petals with a solution?

Turn all the petals inside out. Sometimes the skin on this side looks ugly, it is uneven andbumpy. In the process of work, we will correct these shortcomings using staining and processing with PVA glue. We take all the petals and coat them with a solution one by one. You do not need to completely immerse the blanks in the solution, otherwise they will dry out for a long time. We spread the processed ones on a pre-prepared surface and wait until the surface is well saturated with moisture. Usually it is enough to coat them with glue once, but this largely depends on the skin.

Some types of material absorb water for a very long time. The second time it is necessary to impregnate such petals with a solution after a little drying. Do not allow the parts to become very wet and the glue to show on the front side. Exuding adhesive will stain some leathers.

Foliage for flower

Having finished with the petals, we coat two leaves for the rose. If desired, the amount of foliage can also be increased. Much in this case depends on the product itself. For brooches and headbands, a substrate is needed, so more details will look more attractive in the composition. But sometimes extra leaves only get in the way, so you should focus on what you want to get as a result of work.

Features of sepal processing

Sepal or gluing is an important detail of a leather flower. When we cut it according to the template, we need to make the edges jagged. The skin for this part is often taken more dense than for the petals. In this case, it is not necessary to treat it additionally with an adhesive solution. But, if the material is thin, it must also be smeared withinside out. The sepal is usually made from a standard part and fitted to an already assembled flower.

Formation of petals using the blind man's blind man's technique

Now we check how well the parts are soaked, and proceed to the formation of the petals. Each piece is processed by hand. For work, we will use the well-known technique "blind man's buff". Almost all leather flowers are made in this way. The exceptions are products that are created by firing over a candle flame or roasting in a pan. The blindfold technique consists in folding folds on the workpiece.

We take the petal in our hands and begin to drape it, gathering it with our fingers from one side to the other. The softer and thinner the skin used, the smaller the folds will be on the workpiece and the more elegant the flower will turn out. Having collected the folds, we begin to twist the petal in the same way as we squeeze out the laundry. Repeat for all other details. Another option is to lay the petal flat on a flat surface and start draping using only your nails. This method is suitable for owners of long nails. The result will be approximately the same, but in the second case, the folds can be made smaller and more accurate.

How to make perfect folds?

It is desirable to protect hands during work with thin gloves, but experienced needlewomen prefer to feel the process and say that this allows them to better feel how exactly to assemble the product. In order for folds not to appear across the petal, mentally imagine the center line of the part, as if it were divided into twoequal parts - this will help not to displace them during assembly. Ideal folds should diverge to the sides radially.

Another way: immediately lay the central fold, and then navigate along it and combine the edges of the product, pulling it to the center: first on the left, then on the right. This will help not to lose focus and make even folds diverging from the center. If you do not observe the radiality, the folds will turn out to be ugly, and the petal will warp to the side. This can also happen from an incorrect pattern or carelessness.

How to thin material?

When the skin is thin, there is no need to stretch the edge of the blanks to make it wavy. But if the material is dense, it needs to be thinned. You need to do this after you wet the petal from the wrong side and it is slightly soaked. It is enough to wait about 3-5 minutes and walk along the edge of the petal with your fingers, stretching it a little and bending it in different directions. Sip it gently, being careful not to tear it. After such processing, the flower will turn out more elegant, and it will be easier to fold the petals. When processing a sheet, the same principle is used, but try to lay such folds so that they imitate the direction of the lines in a real live leaf. The blank can also be twisted to increase the number of folds.

What to do if the workpiece is dry?

If you feel that the petal is too dry, soak the brush in the solution and lightly swipe it on the wrong side. After complete processing of all blanks, leave them for 5-10 minutes. During this time, you can cut additional cloves on the sepals. Then we begin to carefully open the petals. In this DIY Leather Flowers tutorial, we won't use any special tools, so we'll create indentations on the bottom of the petal by hand. Press your finger to curve it, and then reshape the edge, making it more curved. We often bend the lower petal forward. The photo shows leather flowers created in this way. They look neat and natural, just like the real thing.

Middle for a flower

Put the leather details aside and start creating the heart of the flower. For this we need beads and beads. There are several ways to make a neat and beautiful center:

1. Use a metal strainer and sew beads through its holes.
2. Cut out a small circle from a plastic bottle and set it on fire with a lighter to create a curved shape. With a large needle in plastic, you need to make many holes and string beads through them.
3. Felting a ball out of wool and sewing beads on it.

Another easy option to make the middle:

1. Take a button, cotton wool, thread, wire and a small piece of fabric.
2. Pass the wire through the holes in the button and make a leg.
3. Then wrap cotton around the button and pull the fabric over the top.
4. Sew the material at the bottom. It should look like a mushroom cap.
5. Embroider the workpiece with beads.

Having finished creating the middle, we proceed to assemble a flower from leather.

Assembling the leather item

Before you start gluing the flower, put the details to the center to understand how the final result will look like. Then we twist the petals again to make them more curved. See for yourself how best to change the shape to make the bud look more natural.

Let's start assembling - for this we will use instant glue. We start the assembly with small petals. We apply a small amount on the leg from the inside and apply it to the wrong side of the core. Moving in a circle, we glue the blanks, forming a flower bowl. We start the fifth petal under the first. We press the edges with our fingers so that the glue grabs better. In order to press the petals to the center, you will need a cap from a regular one and a half liter bottle or a small glass, depending on the diameter of the central part. We turn the petals away from the core, coat the lower part with glue and place the flower in a container for a few minutes.

The second row of petals is glued in the same way as the first, avoiding spiral movement. The movement must be in a circle. We compare the petals in height so that they are all on the same level. When the flower dries, take the leaves and sepals and try them on. If you need to adjust the size of the parts, cut off the excess and twist the edges. Glue the leaves first, focusing on your taste.

Making a brooch with a leather flower

If the flower is planned to be used as a brooch, prepare a pin or a special blank to attach it to the bud. We start to smearsepal glue from the middle. We apply it to the flower and press it. Then we begin to fasten the pin, leading it under one of the sepals. It must be borne in mind that the center of gravity of the flower is above the center, therefore it is impossible to fasten the clip in the middle. We turn off the petal and apply a thin strip of glue to the sepals. Press it down to lock the pin in place.

Do not use a glue gun to glue leather parts, it will make the product heavier and may leave an ugly mark on the petals. The product is ready. We made a leather flower with our own hands, and the master class is over.