Summer Craft Ideas: How to Make Chiffon Flowers

Chiffon flowers are a quick, simple craft idea that makes for beautiful summer crafts and decorations. The flowers themselves can be used in displays for the home, put on headbands or dresses, or spiced up with other fabrics and accents to be used as decorations for weddings and other formal occasions. Though the chiffon flowers I'm giving instructions for are simple, it isn't that complicated to add your own touches to the flowers with beads, threads, other fabrics with different weights and textures, and paints to give them a personal touch.

Note: Children should have an adult's supervision to attempt this craft because it involves using fire to curl the edges of the flowers.

Supplies needed to make your own chiffon flowers:
Beading needle
Scissors
Lighter
Several colors of chiffon or another sheer, synthetic fabric
Invisible thread
Various beads

Step 1: Fold or stack the chiffon about 6-8 layers deep. You'll need the layers to be about 4 inches square so you have room to cut. Make sure you're not using the selvage edge, which is thicker and not very pretty.

Step 2: Pin the center of your stack so that the layers don't slide around.

Step 3: Cut a vague flower shape out of the layers. I cut 5 petals into each shape. Since you're going to be melting the edges, they don't have to be perfect. If you like, you can also cut leaves to attach to the bottoms of the flowers.

Step 4: Separate the layers and hold a lighter briefly under the edges of the flowers. Don't touch a lighter to the flowers because it will cause the fabric to char. The heat alone will cause the edges to pucker and curl up. Watch your fingers and do it in a well-ventilated area.

Step 5: Arrange the layers so that the petals stick out in random directions, curling upward.

Step 6. Using a beading needle and the invisible thread, secure the thread with the knot inside the layers, and then attach a bead in the center of the top layer and bring your needle through all the layers to secure them all. As you attach more beads, the layers will become secure and they won't slide around.

Step 7: Add whatever kind of beads or other accents you like to the center of your flower. If you want to attach leaves, secure them underneath the flower.

Unless you want to add other details like interesting threads for the center, you're done.

Decorating ideas:

Smaller chiffon flowers can be turned into a pin or put on a collar of a child's dress. They can also be used as trim on skirts. Small or large flowers can be put on hairbands and hair combs.

They can be placed on plates or in shallow bowls or in clear glass vases with rocks or glass beads underneath.

They can also be placed along ribbon as garland or attached to sheer fabric to make a canopy for a young girl's bed.

There are plenty of things that can be done with them, and they're so fast and easy that even older children can make them with adult supervision.