How to Make Crepe Paper Dahlias

Crepe paper dahlias are a great way of saving those pieces of paper and ribbon you might have around your craft room or studio.
You can wear them as a funky brooch, as a spring decoration, as a gift topper...
Some of you might get them in rolls or folded like they tissue paper. Both kinds are good for this project. Usually the quality of the folded crepe paper is better but not always so checks it out before you purchase it.

MATERIALS:

Crepe paper rolls or sheets
Needle and thread
Ribbon scraps
Scrapbooking brads
Glitter {liquid gel - silver} Silk leaves 

INSTRUCTIONS:

All you need to start your crepe dahlias is a length of crepe paper about 17 inches long. Always look at the veins of the paper as this is very important to know before you cut your piece. 

If you look on the first photo on the top left, you can see that the veins of my crepe paper are vertical rather than horizontal. They need to horizontal in order to form the dahlia when you sew it. The width of your pieces depends on the size of the flowers you want to make. The one on this tutorial is a medium flower and it's about 4 and half inches wide. No need to be an expert to sew crepe paper, all you need to keep in mind is not to pull to hard from it as you start forming your dahlia. If you have a few pieces of crepe paper in different colours make dahlias in many sizes.

You will cut a strip of crepe paper like the image above to make your dahlia petals. They will all come together once you sew and pull it together.

If you love glitter the same way I do, dust the edges with it. I used glue glitter as fringes them a little more. Once it's dried it will shine just as beautiful as powder glitter. Because I wanted to add more character to this rosette I made a ribbon flower, got a couple of silk leaves and a brad. And voila! 

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Gabriela