Old Things New

TRANSFORMED, from broken to beautiful

Navigation

Rosette Wreath Tutorial

by 36 Comments

So, as promised in my last post, SpringDreamin’, I’m back with a tutorial for one of my Spring decorating projects. This is my DIY Rosette Wreath made from leftover fabrics, including drop cloth material, vintage lace, burlap, and solid and floral cotton. I could call this my Pottery Barn wreath since the cotton fabric is from a Pottery Barn duvet cover which my dogs had a gigantic playfest on, resulting in a long tear right down the center. Oh well, I’m dreaming of a bedroom update anyway.
Plenty of leftover fabric if anyone is interested!
For this tutorial I used a strip of drop cloth fabric. The size strip you cut will depend upon the size rosette you want to make. This one was approximately 1-1/2″x18″. It is better to cut it a bit longer because you can always trim off the excess. 
Start by folding your strip lengthwise and finger creasing it.
Notice the fray to the fabric? I tend to prefer the frayed look but if you don’t . . . well . . . I guess you’ll just have to hem it!
 
Next turn the corner of the fabric piece down. This will be the center of your flower. While holding your rosette with one hand, twist the fabric from front to back with the other hand.  Continue wrapping your length of fabric around the “bud”, twisting as you go.
You can see the twists in the fabric in the pictures below.
With each twist apply a drop of hot glue.
Keep going until your rosette is the size you want and VOILA!
 
Okay, so what happens if your rosette doesn’t look anything like a flower?  Don’t worry, my first attempt at rosette making was pretty sad.  Don’t give up! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again! Really! The nice thing about drop cloth fabric is that it has a little stiffness to it and kind of holds it’s shape. I practiced the twists and turns without the glue gun until I got the hang of it. 
After your rosettes are complete you’ll glue them to a wreath form. I thought a big willow wreath form from the craft store would’ve been beautiful but for this wreath, but everything I used I had on hand. Reason #1: I was in my pajamas and didn’t want to get cleaned up to go to the craft store. Reason #2: I’m fond of saving $$$. 
 
I hot glued the rosettes to a piece of cardboard cut in the shape of a circle, then trimmed close to the rosettes so it wouldn’t show from the front. I added a long piece of burlap around the outside of the rosettes as a sort of frame. I hot glued a wire clothes hanger, bent into a circle, to the back to make the wreath sturdier. Then I added a second row of burlap  to hide the hanger. I don’t know why but I tend to like my projects to look good from the back as well as the front.
Here is the end result, hanging from an old window on my covered front porch.
Below are some close-ups of my rosettes. I used 2 or 3 different fabrics to make each flower.
The entire project took an evening making flowers (while watching Downton Abbey) and a couple of hours the next morning putting it all together.
So there you have it!
If you’d like to see some more rosette wreaths for some added inspiration you can link to my post: TwoWreathsPlainAndFancy.
In this post I share a glittery rosette wreath and one made from an old flannel shirt.
 
I’ll be back in a couple of days with another Spring decorating tutorial but until then . . .
 
     Blessings,

 

Places I Party!!!
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

 

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

Your Blog

Comments

  1. This wreath is very beautiful. I’ve never had much luck with rosettes, but I just pinned your tutorial so maybe I’ll try my hand at it again. I just found you at The Shabby Nest. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply

  20. Your wreath looks beautiful hanging on the old window. I love the rosettes.

    I actually did one this winter with a couple of old sweaters I had and some blue and white ticking. Loved the look of it. I actually need to put it away since it is wintery. Thinks for reminding me. 🙂

    Reply

  21. Love those rosettes, and they look so pretty on your wreath. I am dying to make some myself. Thanks so much for sharing.
    Candy
    PICKINandPAINTIN.blogspot.com

    Reply

  22. Thanks for visiting and linking up at Design Decor Tuesday! I hope you don’t mind that I pinned your entry.

    And I hope you’ll join me for my Friday Flash Blog at The Jenny Evolution. Another terrific place to show off your stuff!

    Reply

  30. Thanks for the great tutorial Patti. I make these flowers also. The only thing I do different is I start with a knot at the end. That becomes my center. I like both ways. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    Reply

  32. In the last time, I am very interesting about handmade. The roses are so CUTE. I made some roses – 5- but does not look like yours. I don’t understand very well how you make the twists. Maybe you can insert a Video tutorial.You make a great job here and I’ll watch yoour marvelous works. Thanks You!!!!

    Reply

  33. I’m a little late to this post, but oh.my.goodness, Patti!!! I love the wreath, but I am DROOLING over the rosettes!!! I’m brand spankin’ new to making them, but I’ve been practicing and I may be beginning to get the hang of it. I do have a question though about the multiple colors (which I dearly love). How did you connect your fabrics together, or did you make separate rosettes and glue them together? I love your tutorial! I’ve been following you for a few months, but somehow missed this post. My bad! I’ll be making up for lost time, for sure! 🙂 Thank you for your wonderful blog.

    Reply

  34. I love wreaths & this one is so pretty! I have some denim scraps I might use to try my hand at rosettes! I think my favorite part, though, is that you used what you had on hand. Using burlap on cardboard is genius! My husband is forever ordering his textbooks from Amazon – I’m gonna snag the box next time! 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply to Ivy and Elephants Cancel reply