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Felt brooches are primarily associated with children's crafts, but depending on the level of the seamstress, even such seemingly simple products can turn into real works of art. In this material we will tell the history of brooches, the emergence of fashion for felt brooches, and we will describe step by step for beginning needlewomen how to sew a felt brooch. Traditionally, at the end of the material you will find one of the pattern options.
History of brooches
The first brooches (or rather their prototypes) looked like pins and no longer served a decorative, but a practical function: fastening two pieces of clothing together. Thus, primitive people used processed animal bones or plant fragments to secure the two ends of skins. With the discovery of tin, more complex designs began to appear, which began to be decorated and also had an additional religious function, becoming a kind of amulet for its owner.Gradually, these prototypes of brooches began to resemble brooches, which already demonstrated the status of the owner. Brooches began to be made not only from bronze and iron, but also from precious metals, gold and silver. Noble people ordered brooches decorated with precious stones, and the decorative parts themselves were made in the shape of animals or were complemented with religious themes. The Renaissance temporarily interrupted the history of brooches, which by that time still continued to serve primarily a practical function. This accessory was remembered only in the 17th century, when it began to serve an exclusively decorative function and finally ceased to be perceived as accessories.
Brooches began to decorate corsets, bodices, sleeves and even the hairstyles of the nobility. In the 19th century, so-called “mourning” brooches inlaid with black stones appeared. At the beginning of the twentieth century, thanks to the development of production, brooches became part of mass production and became available to everyone. During the Great Depression, budget brooches made from fabrics appeared. Today, brooches made of fabric and felt sometimes decorate designer outfits made for children. Modern brooches, rather, reflect the moment-to-minute emotional state of their owner, rather than his status: felt brooches can be both sophisticated and stylish, and ironic and shocking. Most modern felt brooches reflect their outrageous owners (and sometimes even their owners) and their hooligan character. If in the 20th century floral arrangements made of felt were popular, today preference is given to images of animals, and sometimes (if the master has reached a high level) to real caricatures and portraits.But there are options for the discreet and conservative: a felt brooch can always be made in the form of abstraction and decorated with beads.
Fashion for felt brooches
Felt brooches are an ideal option for those who love to embroider or are interested in beadwork. Such a brooch, created with your own hands, can become a pleasant souvenir or a non-binding gift. Felt brooches will be an excellent decoration for children's outfits or for soft toys. Felt products can be used to decorate gift wrappings to give them individuality, or to add color to a bouquet of fresh flowers. If we talk about brooches for everyday wear, then, despite the simple and budget materials, they can also look stylish and not at all cheap. It is enough to take a simple and graphic fragment of a painting by a famous artist (for example, a cloud in a Van Gogh painting or a combination of bright figures in a Kandinsky canvas) and repeat it using pieces of multi-colored felt. If time and desire allow, you can decorate the edges of such work with beads of a suitable shade to emphasize the texture. Such an original brooch will not only demonstrate your talents, but will also serve as an excellent excuse for pleasant small talks.
What you need to sew a felt brooch
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Felt pieces in several colors. We recommend that you immediately select the fabric based on the intended pattern. The thickness of the felt should be at least 1-2 mm so that the material holds its shape.
- Threads matching the color. Depending on the initial idea, you can use either color-matched threads or contrasting threads to highlight a specific detail.
- Glue gun.
- Marker for marking.
- Scissors.
- Cardboard or thick paper to create a brooch design.
- Bale (brooch mount).
- Beads for decoration (optional).
Step-by-step master class for creating a felt brooch
Despite the apparent simplicity of making a felt brooch, it is best to go straight to the indicated points to speed up the progress of the work. Based on the time allocated for work, you can fasten the parts using a glue gun or sew them with a needle and thread.
- Cut out a sample from cardboard. Each part of the brooch must have a corresponding cardboard blank.
- Place each piece on the corresponding piece of felt and trace with a marker.
- Cut out the pieces from felt.
- Further, depending on time and desire: either sew all the parts into a single whole using a thread and a needle, or coat each fragment with an adhesive base and gradually connect each layer of the brooch.
- Complete the brooch with beaded or embroidered decor.
- Coat the back of the accessory with glue and attach the clasp to the back of the brooch.
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