Tutorial - making a silk flower

Super-easy doesn't express how easy this is. If you have a scrap of fabric, scissors, a needle and thread and half an hour you can make yourself a pretty flower to put on a hat, a brooch or whatever!

You start with a strip of fabric. Mine is about 10cm x 45cm which got me a flower about 7cm in diameter, but experiment with what you have lying about. I have used silk sandwashed satin, but anything lightweight will do

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Chop the end corners off to make a parallelogram. It doesn't have to be on the true bias, but the angles should be the same

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Fold one of the short ends wrong side together to one of the long sides.

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Sew along the edge you just folded. I have used contracting thread so you can see. The stitches should be fairly large as you are going to gather them.

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It's a bit trick you see what has happened here, all I have done is bring the edge that was at an angle in the previous picture together with the long edge. You are just continuing the sewing, only one of the edges has a corner and the other doesn't.

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keep the seam going until you reach the other corner

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Don't tie off! You end up with an odd skewed shape like this

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Pull on the thread to gather. You have just made a skewed ruffle!

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Skewed ruffles are used in couture to support full skirts.

Roll the skewed ruffle into a spiral to make a rose like shape. Secure at the base with several firm stitches

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And there you have it! A silk flower!

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Legend has it that Valentino once filled a bubble skirt with these (made of organza) as a secret between him and his client. I think they are too pretty to hide!