Spider Rose Tutorial with Becky!

Thanks for joining me today! Get your upcycle t-shirt ready and let’s create the spider rose I showed you in Monday’s post. To begin, you will need some basic supplies:



t-shirt, patterned paper, cardstock, chipboard, circle punch, baker’s twine, button, chipboard sticker, wet and dry adhesive, foam adhesive, tape

Before we create the flower, I wanted to mention a couple of things about the type of fabric you use. The t-shirt that I upcycled happened to be an interlocking weave, so it was quite stretchy in all directions. This technique will work great with 100% cotton, but you may need more thin strips of fabric to finish the rose. I liked the interlocking fabric because when you stretch out the strip, it crinkles and frays:




To start, punch out a circle from a piece of chipboard. For this example, my circle is 1¾”. Punch a small circle in the center. Mark five points around the perimeter of the circle with a pen.




Cut a 12” length of baker’s twine. Slip one end into the center hole and tape it off on the back. Wrap the twine in and out of the center hole, running the “spokes” up to each pen point, until you have five spokes. Tape off the opposite end onto the back of the chipboard circle.

This is what it will look like from the front side, where you will be working:

Cut several thin (1/4”) strips of your fabric. The tension you use while creating the flower will determine how many strips you need. I cut four, but ended up only needing three of them. Slip one end of a fabric strip into the center hole and tape or glue off on the back to secure.

Fold a thin piece of scrap cardstock over the other end and staple it in place. This will act as a sewing needle for your strip:




Begin winding the fabric strip around the spokes, going under one spoke, skipping the next, under the next spoke, and so on. Allow the strip to twist for added dimension. The looser your tension, the fuller the flower will be. Here’s what it will look like at the start:




Continue “sewing” the strip in and out of the spokes. When you reach the end of one strip, tuck it under the previous row with glue, then glue the end of a new strip in the same spot. Staple another piece of cardstock to the other end of the strip and continue on.

After two strips of fabric:




And the completed spider rose:

Top off the flower with a button and add to the front of a card. You’re done!






Super easy and so pretty! And the best part? You’ve upcycled something you might otherwise have thrown in the trash. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I encourage you to try it with other types of fabrics and textiles. I was thinking burlap would look pretty cool for a boy page, eh? Have a great rest of your week and good luck to everyone who entered the prize drawings from NSD!

~ Becky Fleck

(pssst....be sure to join the PageMaps 6th anniversary party too!  Great challenges, great inspiration and some pretty great prizes too!!!  Click here for more information!)

 

Comments

[Linda E]

BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for the step-by-step instructions, Becky. I can't wait to try this technique!

[Erin Morley]

Awesome idea! I have tonnes of ripped-knee, blown out butt jeans that I have saved for the purpose of crafting. Maybe I'll have to give this technique a try!

[Kristine]

oh I love that !!!! thanks for sharing with us Becky ;-)

[Candy]

Fascinating!

[Miriam Prantner]

What a great tutorial!

[emily pitts]

very cute flower! love the idea, it looks so pretty and so simple to put together! thank you!

[Gisele]

So happy to see the tutorial, bought some tshirts at a thrift store. Gonna try it:))

[Roxanne McCleary]

This is pretty cool, I'm gonna pin it right now, thanks a ton!!!

[Mimi]

I am always looking for something for a craft for my grand daughter and me to work on and I just found one! We go out to my craft room from http://roomstogrowusa.web12.hubspot.com/hobbyrooom/ and have so much out there. Another new project for us, thanks!

[Dorina D]

How innovative and so easy. Thanks for a great tutorial.

[Delia]

Thanks for the awesome tutorial, this will be a great way of using some the baby clothes into a layout.

[Kathy]

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Going to raid DH's old shirt drawer today!!!

[Stacy H-W]

Great tutorial!!! LOVE that flower. I will definitely be making some. And aren't you brilliant with the "needle" of stapled paper!! That would work well with the We R Memory Keepers Sew Ribbon too if you didn't have any of their "needles". Great idea.

[Karen]

It's beautiful! Can't wait to try it with burlap! Thanks for the tutorial!

[Kimberly S.]

Awesome tutorial!!! Thanks :)

[KerryP]

So simple, yet so impressive! Thanks for sharing!

[Bev W.]

Cool beans!!! Thanks so much for the tut! I think I might have the perfect fabric for this:)

[Tona]

Thanks for the great tutorial!

[Toni K]

Awesome! Thanks for the idea!!!

[Rose Stannell]

Love the tutorial. So simple but so beautiful. Thanks.

[Lynn s]

Omg that is so cool

[Michelle]

Thanks so much for showing us how to make these flowers!! Great Job! :-)

[Ruza]

Thank you for the tutorial. I'm going to save this tutorial.
Hoping I have time to try this over the weekend!

[kim shroba]

these would be adorable on headbands.

[Roxx.T]

Wow!! Super cool Flower! I can't wait to try this at home. Thanks for a great tutorial!!

Roxx.T