felt florals and succulents - zero waste gift box tutorial

As I start to transition into a less wasteful existence (slowly but surely), this year I decided once I have used up my bundles of wrapping paper, I will begin to wrap gifts in novel ways meaning that tonnes of wasted paper doesn’t end up scrunched up in a bin. For my little sister’s birthday I decided to decorate a box that she could keep forever.

You will need

A shoe box to decorate

A fabric pencil (optional)

Scissors

Templates (I have created some which I can email on request; but you can also refer to the oodles of pins I utilised via Pinterest here).

A couple of wool felt balls (1.5 or 2cm). I used the following eBay seller.

Hot glue gun and glue sticks to affix the felt to the box.

Needle and thread or hot glue gun with glue sticks.

Variety of wool felt squares (I used the following colours from a lovely eBay seller):

‘Ash’ (the grey/white flower with yellow frill), ‘Willow’, ‘Japonica’ (for the round flower), ‘Just grace’, ‘Driftwood’ (anemone), ‘Sage’, ‘Melon Pink’, ‘Clematis’, ‘McManus’, ‘Natural’ (pansies & grey/cream rose with yellow frill), ‘Vanilla’ (yellow frill and pansies), ‘Dark earth’ (the anemone frill), ‘Grey Metal’, ‘Ivy’, ‘Coconut Ice’.

I wanted my flowers to be sturdier therefore sewed them together (however, using a glue gun would be less time consuming).

You can generally use a neutral thread colour to sew all the flowers, but you will also need purple and cream thread for the pansies, and pale pink and peach for the swirled flowers as the stitches will be visible.

LET’S GET STARTED

Start by cutting out your templates from paper or card. I held my templates over the wool felt and cut around each piece (but if you find this difficult you can use a single pin to keep the paper attached to the felt while you snip). I also find it easier to cut the remaining pieces using the first felt template created rather than the original paper template as it doesn’t slip, but that is just personal preference.

Once you have all your templates ready, begin to assemble and stitch together.

The four leaf clovers

You can see the original shamrock post by Brenna Burger here.

I used ‘willow’ wool felt for the clovers. You only need a short piece of thread (about 25-30cm in length), and it doesn’t have to be green as once sewn it won’t be visible. Take your needle down through the bottom left side of a clover leaf, up again 0.5cm along the bottom, down again a few millimetres along the bottom and back up again 0.5cm further along (see picture below). Repeat this through the following three clover leaves and pull them all tight, knotting your thread to keep them like that. Trim off your excess thread or keep it to sew the clover onto something.

Green leaves and foliage

I cut most of my leaves and foliage freehand by wiggling my scissors through the felt, but I have also traced templates from the leaves to make it easier. For the green foliage I placed two green tones together (‘ivy’ and ‘sage’) and I like the effect created by placing one on top of the other with a slight overlap. First cut one piece of felt from the templates, then use that felt to create the second tone. By cutting around the felt template with a little excess you can create a slightly larger piece in the same style to go beneath.

For the little cluster of five leaves; pinch the bottom edge of a leaf together, knot your thread and bring it up through the bottom edge of the leaf, put it back down through your felt about 0.5cm towards the opposite edge and pull tight. Bring the thread back through the whole leaf again once in either direction pinching the edge closed as you tighten your thread. Like the shamrock pattern, continue with your loose thread and do the same again through the next three or four leaves (depending on how many you would like in your cluster) and finish by pulling them all tight together before knotting off the thread.

For the ten more rounded leaves, place them in clusters as you like (I did two clusters of three leaves and one cluster of four leaves). Instead of folding them first before sewing together, fold one as above and stitch and then place the other two (or three) leaves behind it, and pinch around the central piece you have created, stitching them all together as shown below.

The Succulents

I designed my own templates for succulent number 1 but there are also plenty of templates freely available online. I found this wonderful succulent tutorial with multiple templates here by Hallmark, and I have a special board for more felt inspiration on Pinterest.

Succulent number 1

I had already purchased some felt for this one but I did use ‘Clematis’ wool felt, and they stock a similar shade of green called ‘Coconut Ice’. To make this succulent first stitch the green felt on top of the matching purple leaves, with small stitches going up and down through the thread. I made three small stitches along the bottom edge, and one stitch at the base of the central point (see image 1). This make the pieces easier to work with as you assemble them together.

Assemble the leaves you have pre-prepared into layers to be sewn, then sew each layer together individually. I first sewed together my three large bottom leaves, and a further two separate layers for above (see image 2). Beginning from the bottom layer of the succulent and working your way up stitch them together, with threads which penetrate through all the layers, coming up through the very centre of the succulent piece on top and back down through it again to create a nice neat stitch at the top (as this will be the only visible stitch; see image 3). When you have finished, you can lift the leaves a little, and roll them in on themselves, pressing gently to give the succulent a little more body.

Succulent NUMBER 2 and 3

For these succulents I used ‘grey metal’ wool felt. I created four of the smaller succulents, and one of the larger ones. I found by playing with the felt as I folded it you can create different looks for each of the mini succulents.

For the mini succulents: Fold your first grey circle of felt in half but at an offset (see image 1). Knot your thread and put a stitch through the felt to keep it closed, and fold the fabric again in half (either way) to create a kind of triangle shape. Keep pinching the corner and sew through all the layers (close to the point of the triangle) to keep the felt tightly sealed, and knot off your thread so it won’t come loose (see image 2). You don’t have to be neat with your stitches because you won’t be able to see the thread once complete. Do the same for the other two identical pieces of felt, and finish by sewing the three together in a bunch (see image 3).

Another way to assemble them is to fold the first grey circle in half at an offset as above, but then instead of folding it back on itself roll it like a taco - into itself once and stitch, then into itself from the other side and stitch again (to create a kind of ‘rolled fold’; see image 4). With each of the other two circles of felt simply fold them at an offset and stitch once, then knot them off. Then attach these three pieces together by taking the two folded circles and wrapping them around the centrally rolled piece (see image 5).

For the larger succulent assemble the three smaller pieces of felt as described above to create a mini central piece. Next fold one of the larger pieces of felt in half and wrap it around one half of the central part you just created (see images 1 and 2). Stitch it in place. Do the same with the final three larger pieces of felt alternating which part of the central piece you attach it to.

Succulent NUMBER 4 and 5

I used ‘McManus’ wool felt for succulent 4 and ‘Sage’ for succulent 5. Each can be assembled similarly to succulent 2 above, the felt has simply been cut into alternative shapes.

With succulent 4 I found the larger leaves easier to work with if I folded them once over on themselves at an offset then placed a small stitch in the bottom to hold the fold together, and then knotted off my thread. I then used a new thread to attach it to the main body of the succulent with three small separate stitches coming up and down the fabric repeatedly at the centre of the leaf and one at either edge (see image 1).

Succulent 5 can also be created as described above.

Succulent NUMBER 6 and 7

I used ‘Just Grace’ wool felt for succulents 6 and 7. With these succulents you can again play around with how you assemble the leaves together. For the smaller succulents, I first folded a small circular piece of felt at an offset and then rolled it inwards on itself, holding it in place with a stitch. I then folded the second small felt piece at an offset and rolled that around the first piece (see image 1). With the final larger piece, I stitched the central part onto the middle section (like a lilly pad; see image 2), then wrapped up the leaves towards the central piece and stitched both of the edges together on one side to hold it in place (see image 3). You may like to place a stitch on both sides, but I preferred the more open appearance of the succulent rather than a tighter closed one.

For the larger succulent, I created the central piece as described above; I then folded each of the three larger leaves and stitched them over on themselves at an offset. Finally attaching each individual leaf by wrapping it around the central piece and stitching it secure (see image 1).

The flowers

The Swirled flowers

I created my swirled flowers with ‘driftwood’ and ‘melon pink’ wool felt. There are multiple templates and tutorials online demonstrating this style, and I have drawn two templates to illustrate the different ways in which you can cut your felt. One method is to simply follow a template with a straight edge opposite a wavy edge, or another simply cutting a wavy edged circle from your felt and continuing the wave inwards in a spiral pattern.

Begin by folding the centre of the swirled flower slightly over on itself (see image 1). Bring your needle up through the back of the fabric and back down again to secure the overlapped felt at the centre (you will be able to see these stitches so you should try to use pale pink thread for one flower and peach thread for the other). Continue wrapping your felt around this central part, allowing the fabric to land in a natural swirl. Place a new small stitch every cm/inch or so that you move along to keep the swirl in place (see image 2); I didn’t keep knotting and restarting my thread, but used one continual piece of thread always coming up from the back of the fabric as this is the part of the flower that won’t be visible. When you have reached the end of the fabric simply knot it off at the back (see image 3).

For the melon pink swirled flower, fold the central piece into a roll first to create a tighter aspect to the centre of the flower, and stitch it in place (see image 1). Then fold the central piece back against the long length of felt until you like how it sits, and stitch that in place (see image 2). Begin wrapping around the swirled felt and stitching the layers together from the bottom of the rose (see image 3). This will create a tight flower which is more vertical in shape. Finish again by simply knotting off your thread (see image 4), and push down on the petals to loosen up your flower slightly.

The rose

I used ‘vanilla’ wool felt to create my rose. There is a wonderful tutorial by Lia Griffith which you can find here to create a rose simply using a hot glue gun.

For this rose first cut all the individual leaves from your template; the more leaves you use the fuller your rose will be. To create the centre of your rose, roll one of the smallest leaves inwards on itself (see image 1). For each of the other leaves gently fold them in half and put a stitch at each point to create a three dimensional shape to the leaf (see image 2). With each of these leaves (starting with the smallest leaves first and the larger leaves second) wrap them around the central piece and stitch in place; continue adding a leaf at a time until the rose begins to take shape (see image 3 and 4).

Finish off your rose by folding the petals backwards on themselves to create a curl at the edge. You only need to press gently but the felt should hold the shape (see image 5).

The carnation

The carnation was created with ‘Ash’ wool felt. Lia Griffith has a great tutorial which you can find here.

Fold your pattern in half, and in half again, then place a small stitch in the corner to hold it together (see image 1 and 2). You may need to place one more stitch in the fabric (see image 3). Do this with all 6 pieces of fabric.

Place four of the corners together, and stitch the pieces together (see image 4). To do this you will need to slightly overlap the edges of the triangles, as shown in the picture once complete (see image 5). Place your two final pieces on top and stitch them into the base you have created with the first four pieces. To attach these two pieces, take your stitch down through the centre of the point into the base of the flower and back up again, being sure to keep your stitches small so they can’t be seen in the flower when complete. You may also need to place a few small stitches in the flower to hold the shape; I placed a small stitch in between the top two sections to hold the central piece together (see photo 6), and another stitch on either side of the central portions.

The anemone 1 and 2

I created my first anemone with ‘driftwood’ wool felt for the petals, ‘dark earth’ wool felt for the frill, and a wool felt ball for the centre. There are plenty of tutorials online, but I liked and adapted the one you can find here by Jen Causey.

Begin by taking your wool felt ball, and wrapping the frill around it. Hold it in place while you stitch it to the ball. I started by doing one large stitch through the whole thing (see image 1) and then smaller stitches all the way around the ball to keep it secure (see image 2).

For each of the petals fold them similarly to the rose tutorial above, by pinching at the corner of the petal, but because they are larger petals, stitch for approximately one inch from the corner of the petal inwards with a running stitch or a backstitch (see image 3). Then attach each of those petals individually to the central felt ball working around in a circle (see image 4). The large petals in the anemone and rose are quite difficult to work with because they tend to flop about, but trust that it will come out beautiful in the end and if your stitching is messy underneath it won’t be visible so don’t worry.

For the second anemone I used ‘natural’ wool felt for the smaller petals, and ‘ash’ wool felt for the larger ones. The frill was made with ‘vanilla’ wool felt, and I also used a wool felt ball for the centre. Create it as described above, however instead of folding over the petals and stitching them before attaching to the wool felt ball, stitch them straight onto the base of the felt ball. Work outwards in a circular pattern, beginning with the small cream petals (see image 1 and 2), then the small grey petals, and finally the large grey petals (see image 3).

The pansies

For the pansies, I used: ‘natural’ wool felt (for the cream petals), with ‘vanilla’ wool felt for the yellow stain on the petal, and ‘clematis’ wool felt for the purple petals.

To create your felt pansies, start with the purple petals and stitch them together. I slightly overlapped them and sewed a cross at their points to attach them, they also needed a slight stitch through the middle of the petals (see image 1). I used purple thread but you may not be able to see it with the white petals placed on top so you can potentially use cream thread (depending on the placement of your petals).

Place the next 2 cream petals with their points towards the purple points, and the rounded edges facing out at 3 and 9 o’clock. Then stitch their centres with cream thread to hold them in place on top of the purple petals (you will be able to see this thread so you will need a light shade or cream coloured thread; see image 2). Place your final petal with it’s point between the two cream petal points, and it’s rounded edge facing downwards and stitch it with a little cross (see image 3).

Place your yellow template over the central cream point and with purposeful stitches of purple thread mark lines onto your pansy, as shown below to complete. You can also roll inwards and gently press the white petals to give the flower a soft three-dimensional shape.

The small rose

I created my small rose with ‘Japonica’ wool felt, which makes the whole box top pop with colour. It is made simply by rolling one of the small circles and stitching it closed (as done with the central pieces of some of the succulents above; see image 1 below). Then simply wrap around the loose circular pieces and stitch them in place, working around with a circle until all the small pieces are attached (see image 2, 3 and 4). Finally finish by attaching your four larger circles in the same way to create some larger outer petals.

Finally arrange your flowers and succulents before gluing to the top of the box, and then fix them as desired with a hot glue gun.

There is flexibility in how many templates, flowers and succulents you will want to prepare depending on the space you have to cover or styles you want to include. You can also change up the colours as you see fit, and play around with the patterns. The combinations are endless and I would love to see your own creations if you feel like sharing.

Handmade OOAK dolls pictured above by @Robinsfriends.

Crafts, Plastic Free, FeltNatalie Mobbs8 August 2019Felt, Crafting, Succulents, Florals, DIY, Plastic Free, Gifts, Christmas, Birthdays1 Comment