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How to Sew a Rosette With a Sewing Machine

Knowing how to use your sewing machine to create a rosette -- a flower made of fabric -- allows you to embellish all sorts of items. Place fabric rosettes on throw pillows, window treatments, shower curtains and more. Fabric rosettes can also be used to spice up a boring blazer or jacket, as well as a handbag or sweater. The possibilities are as vast as your imagination. Light- to medium-weight fabrics work best for sewing rosettes with a sewing machine; avoid bulky fabrics that do not gather well.

Things You'll Need

Sewing machine
Scissors
Yardstick
Fabric
Needle
Sewing thread
Quilting thread
Button or vintage brooch for the center

Instructions

- 1
  Calculate the amount of fabric needed for a 2-inch rosette, using a 5-inch wide strip of fabric, 12 inches long. For every one-inch increase in the diameter of the rosette, add two inches to the width and six inches to the length of the fabric strip. For example, use a strip that is 18 inches long and 7 inches wide for a 3-inch rosette, and cut your fabric 24 inches long and 9 inches wide for a 4-inch rosette.
- 2
  Cut the strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise, with wrong sides together. With the sewing machine, seam together the two short sides using a 1/4-inch seam allowance, creating a circle of fabric. You will be stitching through all four layers of the fabric to create this seam. Clip loose threads.
- 3
  Thread the sewing needle with the quilting thread and, beginning at the seam created with the sewing machine, hand sew small running stitches through both layers of fabric on the unfolded edges about 1/2-inch from the edge. The stitches should be about 1/2-inch long. Continue sewing around the entire circle. Leave a 4-inch loose thread at the beginning and at the end.
- 4
  Remove needle and pull the two ends of the thread with your hands, tightening the fabric so that it forms a flower or rosette shape. Tie the loose threads in the back, bringing the raw edges to the back. Secure the threads with several double knots.
- 5
  Hand sew a button to the center of the rosette to hide any thread lines or raw edges. Manipulate the fabric as needed to form the flower shape you are most happy with.

Sewing