How to Make Fabric Tulips

DIY fabric tulips are quick and easy to make, but moreover, they look adorable and make for perfect little gifts.

These are perfect for expressing your love to your dear mother on Mother’s Day, giving to your kids on Easter, and also a pretty present that you can give to a good friend, co-worker or neighbor along with a Thank-You note.

The best part?

Beginner DIYers and kids can make these beautiful tulips in minutes – they’re a colorful and thoughtful gift that never wilts!

Popular DIY YouTuber Abi from Abi’s Den breaks it down for us wonderfully in her tutorial. We’ll look at how she makes her lovely fabric tulips in this post.

Supplies

You don’t need much to make these tulips, and you likely won’t even need to shop to get started. Here are the six things you need:

Steps

01 Sew the Stem

First, fold over the piece of felt, and use pegs or clips to hold the fold in place. Then, set the seam guide on your sewing machine at 2cm and sew along the length of the felt or fabric.

Stop sewing just before the end of the piece of felt, turn it, and sew towards the fold to complete the stem. Snip it off, and that’s it – the tulip’s stem is ready.

Watch Abi sew the stem by skipping to 1:15 on her video below.

02 Stuff the Stem

Pop the tube turner pipe in the stem, and push the stick into the closed end of the fabric a little bit.

Next, add a little stuffing to the closed end, pop a coffee stirrer in, and add more stuffing. Pull the fabric up as gently as you can as you stuff the stem.

Watch Abi demonstrate by skipping to 3:57 on her video below.

03 Make the Tulip’s Bud

In the video, Abi demonstrates how you must fold and cut the fabric to make a tulip shape. She simplifies it and explains that the tulip is longer on the top and shorter on the base, and you don’t need a template in order to make your cut.

After you cut out the shape, use the seam guide to sew the pieces of fabric together.

Skip forward to 5:49 on Abi’s video below to watch her pull off this intricate step.

04 Sew the Stem and Stuff the Bud

Finally, for the really fun part!

Push the stem through the long end of the tulip, pleat the fabric on both sides of the stem, and sew over the wood.

Turn the tulip over, stuff it, and pinch and fold the ends of the tulip inwards to prepare it for sewing.

Push the needle through one of the seams, then push it through the seam on the opposite side and pull. Two new seams will form.

Repeat these steps with the two new seams to create the “Tulip effect.”

Abi demonstrates this step at 8:54 in her video below.

05 Make the Leaf

This is the easiest step.

Cut out a leaf shape from the leftover green felt, and wrap it around the stem. You can hand-stitch it to the stem, or use your sewing machine – both methods work equally well.

And that’s it – you now know how to make tulips out of fabric!

Abi cuts and stitches the leaf at 13:33 in her video below.

Full Video

Watching Abi make the tulips first-hand will give you a better understanding of how you must approach this DIY project.

Alternatively, you can use the timestamps above to go through specific segments of her tutorial.

FAQs

Can I use a wire instead of a coffee stirrer in the stem?

Sure! But keep in mind that coffee stirrers are thicker, and hence make the stem a lot sturdier. Also, if you’re around kids, coffee stirrers are safer to use, since they have blunt edges.

I want to make these with my kids. How do I involve them?

DIYing with your kids is one of the sweetest memories you can make for both you and them! One thing you can do to involve your children is to ask them to cut the shapes out.

There are plenty of child-safe scissors available, and while Abi doesn’t provide any cutting templates, you can easily find some with a quick online search.

Do I need to buy new fabric to make these tulips?

If you’re going for a very specific look, you will need to buy your desired fabric. However, most DIYers, including Abi, use scrap fabric to make fabric tulips.

Additional Tips

If you’re looking to give your tulips a little extra lift, you can sew in a plastic bead on the final stitch of the tulip. It will make the flower pop out when it’s used as décor.

Putting a few of these tulips in a pretty vase for the spring is an excellent way to enliven any room, especially considering that these flowers never wither!

Abi uploads lovely DIY projects like this one on her YouTube channel Abi’s Den at least once every other week. If you liked her tutorial, subscribe to her channel for more.