Zipper Flower Embellishment

Guess what? The Ribbon Retreat now carries ZIPPERS! Yay! I’m so excited!
There are so many fun things you can do with zippers.

Today I’m going to show you how to make a zipper flower embellishment.

Now, this may come as a shock to you. But, sometimes I make mistakes.
I’m not gonna lie, sometimes I set out to make something crafty and I completely destroy it!

For example, about a year ago I decided to make a zipper flower for the first time.
How hard could it be? I got to work hot gluing the zipper to a hair clip.
The zipper didn’t want to stay put and the hot glue made a big mess.
It was a huge craft FAIL! I would show it to you but I threw it in the trash shortly after making it!
And, I haven’t attempted a zipper flower since!

Looking back I think it would have been wise to
1) Use less glue
2) Glue only a little bit of zipper at a time
3) Plan ahead where I wanted the petals to be instead of just gluing them randomly onto the clip.

This time I decided to use thread instead of glue.
I’m sure I’ll use glue again sometime but I wanted to try sewing instead.

Zipper Flower Embellishment

Supplies

Zipper
Thread
2 Felt Circles
Clip
3/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon
Scissors
Glue gun
Glue sticks

If you’re using the awesome zipper accents from The Ribbon Retreat
you won’t have to worry about the first couple steps.

If you have a regular zipper you’ll need to cut off the end of the zipper and remove the zipper pull.
Then, you’ll have 2 zipper pieces.

The longer your zipper, the bigger your zipper flower will be.
The Ribbon Retreat’s zipper accents are 37″ long and make a good size flower.

Start by sewing the end of the zipper to the center of the felt circle.
I’m using grey felt because I’m out of black, but let’s say I’m using grey felt on purpose,
you know, so you can see it better in the pictures.

Now loop the zipper around like a petal and stitch it to the center again.
I “measured” using my index and middle finger.

Loop the zipper around on the opposite side, making a figure 8.
Stitch it to the center.

Continue making loops and stitching them down to the middle of the felt circle.

After you’ve made all your petals you should have a little bit of length left on your zipper.
Secure and tie off your thread.

Re-thread your needle, then starting at the end begin
rolling the zipper toward the center of the flower.

Secure with thread as your rolling.

When you reach the center, stitch through the rolled zipper and into the center through the felt.

Bring your needle up through the center and back down again.
Do this a few times until it feels secure.
In hind sight, a thimble would have been helpful.

Sew through the layers and tie off in the back.
Hopefully yours will look prettier in the back than mine does.
If not, it’s ok because you’re not going to see that part.

If you want your zipper flower to be a hair clip, you have a few more steps to complete.
If not, you’ll need to decide how you want to use it.

The reason I call this a zipper flower embellishment is because it’s more than just a hair clip.
There are so many ways you can accessorize with this zipper flower.

You could stitch a safety pin or brooch pin on the back of the felt and make a brooch.
You could add it to a necklace or a headband. You can clip it to a purse or a hat.
The sky’s the limit!

Glue your ribbon to the clip. Slip the other felt circle between the 2 prongs of the clip.
Apply hot glue to the felt circle.

Glue the zipper flower down on to the felt circle.
The top prong of the clip and the glue will be “sandwiched” between the 2 felt circles.
Press and hold to secure.

And, you’re done!

How cute does the zipper flower look clipped to a crocheted hat?