A dried flower meadow on fabric

A Dried Flower Meadow on Fabric

I love pressing flowers, and the idea of a dried flower meadow on fabric came to me as a result of my work with pressed blooms. This project takes the pressing process and gives it a 3D twist.

A hanging fabric meadow will bring texture and interest to any living space. Also, the accessible technique used to make it can be adapted to your particular aesthetic too.

Before You Start

• If you're going to hang your flower collage on the wall, then you need to think about how the edges of the fabric will look – I've opted for a torn and feathered effect on all sides, to keep the collage looking natural.
• Make sure your fabric is well pressed before you begin and get out as many of the creases as possible.
• This project will work well with any delicate stems that you haven't found a use for elsewhere – sturdier stems will be harder to sew onto your fabric, so opt for delicate flowers, like daisies.

Materials You'll Need:

• dried flowers of your choice
• naturally dyed linen
• a needle and thread (which matches your fabric)
• sewing scissors
• natural tape

For This Project, I Chose:

• Quaking grass (Briza media)
• Daisies (Bellis perennis)
• Astrantia (Astrantia major)
• Grass stems

Choosing Your Design

If you have enough space, it may be a good idea to design your collage on a separate piece of paper. You can then transfer each bloom onto your fabric as you go along, which might make it easier to sew in place.

Whichever method you choose, first secure your linen to a stable surface with natural tape before you begin. This will keep it in place as you work and will prevent wrinkles from gathering. Use natural tape as this will leave your fabric mark-free.

Creating Your Dried Flower Meadow

• Arrange your flowers in whichever design you choose - I have gone for a natural meadow look, grouping my flowers in small clusters to represent how they would grow in the wild.
• With some of your stems, you might want to remove some of the flowers or leaves to ensure that the main flower has the impact you desire.
• Discard any stems that do not sit well on the fabric, as these will be difficult to sew down later. You can save these for another project, so there's no need to waste them.
• Use negative space to your advantage here – you don't need to fill every little gap, but make sure that your composition works well together so that all the stems flow naturally, albeit this may mean that some of the stems will overlap.

Tidying Up Your Meadow

• Once you have secured all of your stems, it's time to tidy up your threads.
• Using small sewing scissors, cut your threads right down to the double knots that you've made, being careful not to cut the knots themselves.
• Once all your threads are trimmed, remove the tape and then hang your meadow on your wall, either by mounting it onto a board or tacking it onto the wall.