When is a rose not a rose? When it’s made of leather! It’s actually very easy to make leather flowers that look sophisticated, but are deceptively simple. Today we’ll learn how to mould leather to make roses and other flowers. You can wear them as jewelry or hair accessories, dress up a bag or belt, or fix them to wire or dowel stems to make a striking and permanent bouquet.
You’ll need:
- Leather – try and choose fairly thin leather with as smooth a reverse side as you can find. If it’s very ragged on the back you can sand it a little, but not too much or it won’t soak properly. Why not try recycling thrift store leather items?
- paper, pencil, and compasses (or circular objects to draw around)
- craft scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
- bowl of warm water
- soft absorbent cloth
- string or yarn
- White glue or rubber cement
Begin by drawing your pattern. The rose pattern is 3 larger circles spaced around a smaller one. Draw one pattern at the size you want the outside of your rose to be, and one about 2/3 the size for the inner petals.
To make other flowers, fold a piece of paper into as many petals as you want and cut out a petal shape, being sure not to separate it completely at the base, which will be the centre of your flower.
Trace your pattern onto the back of the leather, and cut out. For a rose you need two of the larger pattern and one piece cut to the smaller pattern.
Put your leather pieces into warm water to soak until they are completely saturated and somewhat squishy to the touch. If you find you have stiff dry spots, work them with your fingers until soaked through. When the leather is soaked, lay it between a folded soft cloth and press out the excess water.
Now you’re ready to mould your flowers. To make a rose, place the two larger pieces on top of each other, and pull the petals of the lower layer up between the petals of the upper layer. If they won’t quite go, snip little slots in the bases of the petals until they will fit together easily. The petals should crease and fold slightly.
With the grain side of the leather uppermost, bring the top three petals up so they overlap each other, using your finger and thumb to mould and stretch the centres of the petals so they bow out a little. Holding the petals together with one hand, roll the edges of the petals all round with the other. Tie gently with string – just enough to hold them in place, but not so tight as to mark the leather.
Now bring up the lower set of petals, and overlap and roll them in the same way, again tying loosely with string.
Do the same with the smaller piece, moulding and overlapping the petals, rolling back the edges, and tying loosely.
Leave the pieces to dry completely. You can use a little heat from a hairdryer if they are taking a long time, but be careful as this can make your leather dry and brittle.
When your pieces are dry, snip and remove all the strings and fluff out the petals a little. Glue the small piece into the centre of the large piece to finish your rose.
To mould other flowers, fold the petals grain side inward, and stretch and pinch them to add an outward curve along the fold. Curl back the points of the petals and leave your flower to dry, either upside down or balanced in a cup to maintain the shape of the petals.
When completely dry, sew or glue a bead, button, or leather scraps in place to make the centre of the flower.
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This is so cool! I think I have a leather purse hiding in a closet somewhere that I can use to try this out =) Thanks!
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That is &%$# BEAUTIFUL!! *^_^*
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thankyou! It was really pretty easy.
These are so unique! Love the look of the leather. Thanks so much for stopping by to comment on my metal flower tutorial. Your idea to use coke cans is brilliant!
very cool looking!
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Ooh! I just bought a ring with one of these on it at a craft show. Now I’ll have to try and make one!
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beautiful rose! the directions are great We will have to give it a try!
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Thanks for linking up for Flower Week @ Singing Three Little Birds! This is great!
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Hi! I’m featuring this today for Flower Week @ Singing Three Little Birds!
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Any idea what measurements were used for the pattern in the picture
I used a small roll tape to draw the circles – the larger petals are each about 5cm across, and the small circles around 3cm.
I can’t tell you how much I adore this! Thank you for the fabulous tutorial!! I featured this tutorial today on my blog with a roundup of flower tutorials. Here is the link:
http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2010/07/wednesdays-wowzers-3-dozen-plus-four.html
Thank you so much for inspiring me. Have a wonderful day!
~Alison
Alison´s last [type] ..Wednesdays Wowzers- 3 dozen plus four flower tutorials
Just lovely. Can you please tell me how to make these leather poppies–http://www.etsy.com/listing/51519533/leather-poppy-wristlet-glazed-chocolate. Thank you.
I appreciate this . I was looking for something to accent my teeshirts, hats and jackets that I want to sell. How I must find my leather pieces. I also, have a jacket, old purses that I will cut up instead of selling them. Thanks
its really nice…very well tutorial
zeshuregi´s last [type] ..My Sketch Book Work
Muy bueno , gracias
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much easier than i thought it would be! great stuff, thanks!
Beautiful! I will have to try this now. The red leather rose in the first picture, is it made with only two pieces of leather? It looks like it has 9 petals, so wouldn’t that require a third piece of leather? Thanks!
You’re right, the rose is made from three pieces. Two cut to the larger pattern size, for the outer petals (see pictures in the post) and one cut smaller but the same shape, for the closed inner petals.
Well, I learned something cool today! I’ve always wanted to know how to mold(mould) leather. Thanks for sharing! I will feature and link in a future post so others can come visit!
Pearl
beadinggem´s last [type] ..How to Make Convertible Brooch Pendant Necklaces
Ohhh, fantastic. Some of it were being put on a shoe, right?
Love the idea. How about a YouTube video?
This is beautiful! Any suggestions on how to add a stem to it so I can have a permanent leather rose bouquet?
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