Creative Ways to Use Wool Felt Scraps: DIY Brooch Tutorial

Anyone who makes things knows the thrill of a pile of “scraps.” We are thrifty and imaginative folk who both appreciate using every last bit of a material and the creative challenge of making something from what we have in front of us. The pile in question could be your own collection of “someday I will need this” off-cuts or an irresistible scrap bag deal from The Annual Felt Remnant Sale that The Felt Store holds every Spring. Either way, hopefully this project with inspire a new way to use up all your bits and pieces to make wearable felt flair.

You’ll need a few things to get started:

• A few metal brooch backs
• Scissors
• Something to trace various sized circles on to your material
• A needle and thread (both regular and embroidery)
• A few colorful buttons (optional)
• And of course, your collection of felt scraps Think different color, textures and thicknesses!

The colored buttons add some nice dimension in this Spring flower piece but you could do this entire project with just felt and thread if you don’t happen to have any kicking around.

For the base of the brooch, I used the 3mm Thick 100% Wool Designer Felt in Terracotta and a combination of 100% Acrylic Craft Felt in Apple Green, and Premium Wool Blend Craft Felt in Sky Blue.

Start by tracing and cutting out your circles. My base is 2” and inner circle is 1/4” smaller. You can decide the ratios for this, but just make sure you leave yourself enough room to stitch your smaller circle down. Keep these two circles as separate pieces until the end of the project.

Next, I cut out some tiny felt leaves to attach to my Spring flowers. I used a little dab of Aileen’s Tacky Glue to stick the leaves in place once I decided where I wanted them to be and used a yellow thread to stitch on the stems and secure the felt leaves. I liked how the leaves looked coming off the edge of the blue background and sticking up a bit from the surface.

I used some black Sashiko thread to sew on my buttons and to make the centre of my flowers. I often use Sashiko thread for embroidery projects as it’s 100% cotton so has a nice matte finish and is twisted tightly together making it behave like a strong single strand.

Then I took my thicker wool backing and sewed the brooch back on securely before flipping it over and stitching around the edge of the finished bouquet circle to hold it in place. It looks great pinned to a jean jacket, don’t you think?

I hope this has inspired you to play around with simple appliqué and stitching techniques to play with an exciting stack of felt scraps.

We’d love to see your projects! Share your masterpieces on social media and tag us @erinmackeen and @the_felt_store so we can admire your incredible work!