I really love using crinoline for die cutting. If you are not familiar with it, crinoline is a fairly stiff utility type fabric. If you have ever dressed up in formal wear and wore petticoats, they were probably made with crinoline. Crinoline has a loose weave and a crisp finish. It die cuts nicely and takes inks and dies wonderfully. Even though it has a stiffness, it can be worked with and manipulated easily and holds it shape nicely after shaping. Today I am sharing two styles of flowers I made with crinoline and the Paper Rosette die from Tim Holtz's Sizzix Alterations line.
I often get questions about where to buy crinoline. I buy it at my local Joann's store. It should be in the utility fabric section. There is a similar fabric called buckram. It is also great for die cutting and dying. It wouldn't work well for this flower, it is too stiff, but it does work for the Tattered Roses that I have available for download. If you can't find crinoline, I have a link to Joann's in the supply section. If you want a small quantity and can't find it locally, I do offer crinoline fat quarters in my Etsy store. I offer these really just as a convenience for people who can't find it locally. Since I have to cover shipping and fees, it is a much better deal to buy it at your local fabric store.
For this flower, you could use other fabric in place of crinoline. I would recommend fabric that is stiff or fabric that has been stiffened with a fabric stiffener.
To create a tag for the background like mine, begin by covering the front of a tag with Sticky Back Canvas. For my tag, I peeled the backing away from the Sticky Back Canvas and placed the tag face down onto the sticky backing.
Cut around the tag using a craft knife or scissors. Cut or punch out the hole in the top of the tag.
Ink an ink blending tool with the desired color of ink. Brush the color onto the canvas in straight lines from top to bottom.
Brush the edges of the tag with the ink blending tool to create a bold edge.
Ink a stamp using the same ink applied to the background. The stamped image color will be bolder than the background, creating the look of two shades of the same color.
Cut two strips of ribbon to use as stems. Apply Super Tape to the backs of each piece.
Adhere the stems to the tag. Add a line of stitching around the border of the tag.
Cut a piece of crinoline that is as wide as the strip die and twice as tall. Fold the crinoline in half so that you have a two-ply strip that is the same size as the die with a fold along the top edge. Lay the die as shown, with the circle to the right.
Place the folded strip of crinoline over the top of the die. Add the die and fabric with the appropriate plates and die cut.
After die cutting, you will have two circles, two rosette strips, and a large piece of scrap.
Make a straight cut in the scrap next to the circle.
Make a second straight cut in the scrap in line with the left edge of the rosette cut. This scalloped edged piece along the top fold will be used to create the rouched posey.
Place the crinoline pieces on a craft sheet. Use Distress Stains to apply color to the crinoline. (This particular bottle of stain is very dry and didn't create much bleed through on the craft sheet below. Other bottles I have are quite juicy and flow much more freely.) If the back sides of your flowers will show on your project, you may want to apply color to both sides. You may get enough color by just dragging the clean side in the excess color on the craft sheet.
To blend or soften the colors, mist the crinoline pieces with water.
To remove excess water and stain, blot the surface of the crinoline with a dry cloth. Be careful to blot and not wipe, wiping with move the weave of the fabric and distort the shape of the strip.
Dry the crinoline with a heat tool.
Place a strip of scotch tape along the top edge on the back of each rosette strip. This is an optional step, but one I really feel adds some stability to the crinoline.
Fold the strips along the fold lines.
Add adhesive to the end flap of each strip. My favorite adhesive for this is Helmar's 450 Quick Dry. It has a fast bond that dries quickly and is clear.
Hook the two end pieces together. Allow the adhesive to dry.
An added benefit of reinforcing the edge with tape is that it allows you to trim the strip so that it makes a slightly smaller rosette. On my example, I trimmed the rosette that I used as the top flower so that it would be slightly smaller than the one behind it.
Apply adhesive to one of the circles. (I colored both of my circles even though only one shows.)
Press the center of the rosette down onto the center. Hold it for a few moments until the adhesive sets. This is my back flower so I have the tape side down and the circle on the back.
Repeat the process for the front flower. The tape side is on the back and the circle is on the front..
Brush the edges of the assembled rosettes with Distress Ink.
Apply adhesive to the back of the smaller front rosette.
Stack the small rosette onto the larger rosette.
Place a large brad through the center of the two stacked rosettes, squeezing them so that the prongs can be flattened on the back of the larger back rosette. Squeezing the two rosettes together will cause the front rosette edges to cup upwards slightly.
To create the ruched flower, fold the scrap strip in half. Press the edge with your finger to create a crease mark along the center of the strip.
Make a loose running stitch with several strands of embroidery floss.
Hold the threads while moving and bunching the fabric on the thread.
Tie the two ends of the thread with a tight knot. Cut off the excess thread.
Fluff the ruffles as desired.
Brush the edges with Distress Ink.
Adhere the flowers to the tag over the tops of the ribbon stems. To adhere the ruched flower, flatten one side and glue it to the tag. One mine I smashed the flower down to help press it into the adhesive. I liked how it looked smashed and smooshed so I left it. Play with it and experiment with shaping it. It makes an easy and fun flower, all from scrap fabric!
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