Handmade Fabric Flowers: 32 Beautiful Blooms to Make

I give this book a 5 star rating because even though it doesn't exactly suit my peccadilloes, nothing ever does perfectly. So no book is ever going to be exactly perfect and with that in mind I have to account for popular things when it comes to reviews. So in the spirit of popular layouts, bindings, etc, I write this review.Pros:1. The flowers are stunning and I usually find about 50% of craft book unusable for me, this one is 100% usable and I intend to make every flower in here.2. The attention to detail and the explanation of how to achieve it is above most books currently in print.3. The patterns in the back are done is such a way that most can size them how they want.4. The material lists are very handy and appear to be accurate at first glance. I will know more later as I get into it.5. The resource list is short and to the point. I'm sure that others as they create, myself included, will find resources more to the individual liking but to start out with it is thorough. Unlike most books that contain 15-20% of their list outdated, this one is 100% viable at the time of this review.6. Well written instructions and you can tell this author has been teaching this medium for some time. Teachers of a craft write differently than those that just do the craft. It is a large plus when looking for a book to learn an art form from. This teacher is one of the better writers so that is a bonus as well.7. The layout plans at the start of each flower are going to be invaluable as one goes along and I believe will make a noticeable difference in the flower production process for both time and cost.Neutrals:1. I am neutral about the iron she recommends and uses. I have a Clover small iron that I am going to try first just because of the safety features offered on it.Cons:1. The book does not stay open due to the binding used. I can see this being a problem as using weight to hold this type open usually results in the binding eventually breaking. Perfect binding or Spiral would have been a way better choice.2. More than the one or two examples for each flower would have been better or a gallery showing each flower 3-5 times in different situations and/or together on pages if number of pages were the issue. Lack of various examples really does not do the flowers justice.3. Lack of Fashion usage was disappointing. All but one flower example is for some type of accessory only and the one is shown as being attached to an earring hoop by a wrap method.4. Instead of dividing both sections by the flower I would have divided it up by Accessories, Hair, Bag Adornments, etc. and again included more that two types for the examples while placing the instruction with the examples due to the examples' simplicity it would have blended well.I hope this helps people thinking about buying this book.

I have been looking for fabric flower tutorials that included stiffening/sizing and hot tools... But when I Google, I just keep finding these child-level fabric flower tutorials and none of them use the fancy flower making irons and techniques that I want to learn...This book is the only one in English I have found that does include hot irons, and sizing though I would suggest just buying yourself some stiffy or aileens stiffening liquid... there is no reason to create these mixes she uses.I don't even have the one head attachments she used the most for the irons (spoon head) but I think I can mimic what she does with one of the other 15 heads I do have.If you are looking to take your flower making to the next step, this is a good place to start.

It truly is too bad there isn't a look inside feature for this because the flowers really are beautiful (my fave is the dahlia - it's gorgeous!).Onto the book, which has various parts or sections:Sections 1: pictures of the 32 flowers featured with short descriptions of the flower (some of them have pics of how to use them - attached to bag(s) or headbands, use as brooch or corsage, a daisy chain, etc)Section 2: starts with a short primer on selecting/sizing/cutting your fabric, the types of glue used and how to apply them, the flower iron, and a list of various other supplies needed to make the flowers. There is also a one-page tutorial on how to secure the stamens and make the bow.The next part of this section starts the how-to on making the flowers. The instructions are clear and very nicely laid out with materials and tools shown first with a pic of the finished flower, diagrams and measurements on how to cut the fabric, then numerous pics of making the petals and assembly. There are also very good pics of where to place the iron (on the petal) to achieve the look you want. The dahlia (YAY!) and balloon flower don't require use of the flower iron and you may already have all the supplies on hand.Section 3: contains the petal and leaf templates which you can trace and cut out. The last page contains a short list of online resources, including where you can get the flower iron.As mentioned in the previous review, the book will not stay flat due to the binding and flattening it out with some kind of weight may eventually break the binding. Also, the majority of the flowers require use of the flower iron or something similar, so that will be another consideration.Overall, this is a great addition to my flower-making library and I'm definitely going to be making the dahlia first.

If you want to make professional quality fabric flowers this is the book for you. It is well organized, with thoughtful layout, well-written instructions and excellent photographic illustrations.This is a guide for the serious artisan. If your interest in the subject extends only to making an occasional costume or decorated headband, it's probably best to save your money and buy some artificial "silk" flowers (which are actually polyester) at your local fabric/hobby shop.To make the flowers in this book you'll need to invest in a temperature controlled flower iron with several different attachable tool heads. In my opinion the Clover mini iron II is not sufficient as it simply does not have all the necessary tool heads. I bought the Clover only to quickly upgrade to the more suitable set the book recommends. Lacis is the only supplier I've found for a temp controlled iron with a complete set of heads. I'd love to hear from anyone who recommends other sources for this essential tool.Again, this is a terrific book to guide you through the creatively satisfying art of making fabric flowers. Kudos to the author, translator and publisher!

This book is truly gorgeous. The flowers are stunning, the photography is beautiful and I desperately want to make every flower in the book! But here's the downside and the reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 - the flower iron. It would appear to be one of the hardest pieces of craft equipment to obtain in the UK. The recommendation in the book is for an online company in the USA, and the price of a flower iron is pretty high. Then you need various different shaped tools, all extras. If I had known before ordering that an expensive, hard to obtain iron was required, I possibly wouldn't have purchased the book. Having said that, there are a couple of interesting techniques in the book about making beaded centres for flowers, so I may make those for other vintage fabric flowers that I already make.

, fantastic pictures and explanations, well set out, first all the pictures, numbered, then towards end of book all the "recipes" so to speak and how to make the flowers. Yes very pleased, I now have all the equipment , need to lock myself away for an afternoon to get started!

It's a stunning book with lots of very clear instructions. The only downside is the fact that you need to have a "flower iron" (as used in millinery) in order to do most of these flowers. The Flower Iron is a very expensive piece of equipment +/- £100 and I have yet to find a cheaper option.

Recently purchased some millinery/flower making irons & was unsure which tool did what. There doesn't seem to be many books about to help & although this book doesn't cover everything it gives very clear instructions with excellent photos/diagrams on using a flower iron, and also effects without the iron. I'm very pleased with this resource.

The book has great pictures and shows each step well. I wish I could have "looked inside the book" before purchasing because the flowers presented are not really was I was looking for. Nevertheless, this is a good explainitary book.