Ear Warmers & Layered Flower Tutorial

I've been drooling over this post at Prudent Baby, by Delia Creates for the whole entire month, and finally got it together this morning. I added a tutorial for my layered fabric flower toward the end too :) 

The tutorial Delia provided is ridiculously simple to follow, and results in seriously the cutest fall/winter accessory... an ear warmer. She used fleece, and says you can use a sweater or thermal too. I can't wait to raid Andrew's old clothes for shrunken sweaters and thermal tops. This is the story of how I made mine...



I chose to make a pattern for mine, using the measurements Delia used on hers. I also decided to make Lilly a pattern. Her length was 21 1/2" and I left mine as 25 1/2" long.

I used a brushed flannel that had a slight stretch to it, and since it was pretty thin, I opted to cut 2 on the fold and sew them together, right side to right side. I left the end open so I could flip them right-side out. 

After the turning right-side out, I used a nice wide top stitch to finish the edges and close the opening. Then it came time for the button. I had to get myself reacquainted with my button hole foot, and how on earth to do it. 

After a test run on some scraps (my machine starts from the bottom and goes backwards/clockwise... make sure you check yours, because I have no idea what other machines do), I committed to the ear warmer, and attached my button. I wish I had my seam ripper to open the button hole, so mine is a little messy because I just used my scissors. 

Yay! It fits! 

I want to mention that I chose to sew mine completely before I embellished, because I had no idea if it'd fit and where I wanted the flower to go. If I do more of this type, I'd probably attach my button and the embellishments to the right side of the top piece before sewing it together and top stitching, if I wanted to hide the threads and such on the inside. If you're using a heavier piece of fleece like Delia did, I suppose you could line it, or ignore it. I'll probably ignore the threads.

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Layered Flower Tutorial
I know there are thousands of tutorials out there on how to make these easy peasy layered flowers, but here's mine. I had a light grey jersey tank top that has seen MUCH better days, and decided to slice and dice it.

1) Cut your petals. Cutting your scalloped rounds (or any other shape you like, petals, circles, random shapes) to size depends on how big/small you'd like your finished product. I wanted mine pretty big, so I started with a big circle and cut scallops on the edges. None of mine are perfect, I like the random look. I did 8 scallop circles, in various diameters/sizes. If you'd like more fluff, add more petals.

2) Stack. Stack your petals so they're either randomly off center (what I did), or perfectly aligned, or whatever you like. I alternated the scallops so they peeked out from the one above, just to keep it interesting. You can do yours however you like! 

3) Attach. I chose to do a simple "x" to attach my flower to the band, but you could use a button to finish it off, or a glass bead, trim, pom pom, or whatever you want!

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Ta daa!  I love the way this turned out, and I can't wait to make some more with some heavier fleece and more colors. Delia's headbands are seriously adorable, and now you can make your own! The first ear warmer, including the flower, only took me about an hour and change from start to finish, and the second one I made was even faster since I knew what I was doing.

Isn't she the cutest. My ear warmer doesn't look as spectacular on my head as it does on Lillian's. I think it's the hair and the perfectly round head she's got. Mine is so not round.

Crazy eyes pre-nap time. 

Now go get some fleece or something and keep your ears warm!!