Silk Lotus Flower

Embellish your favorite outfit with this stunning lotus flower craft, made with luxurious silk taffeta, from "Cool Couture," by Kenneth D. King.

Tools and Materials

• Crinoline (milliner's interfacing) or other stiff interfacing
• 1/4 yard silk taffeta or dupion fabric
• Scissors
• Folding diagram
• Hand-sewing needle and coordinating thread
• Oil votive candle for singeing (optional)

Silk Lotus Flower How-To
1. Cut one 3-inch square from the crinoline and set aside. Cut five 3-inch squares from the silk. Following the diagram, fold and cut each silk square into a six-petal flower-shaped "unit."

2. In the center of one silk petal unit, sew a running stitch in a circle, about 3/8 inch in diameter. Draw this row of hand-stitching tight, and sew the center of the unit to the crinoline.

3. With the next four silk units, sew and gather progressively larger circles in the center of each (in terms of coins, these circles would be about the size of a dime, penny, nickel, and quarter). Sew each gathered unit to the crinoline on top of the previous one, containing the nub of fabric in the center of one petal unit inside the nub of fabric in the center of the next.

Tip: As you are sewing the petal units to the flower, make sure the ripples in the petals are evenly distributed around the flower. You can pull the petals one way or another and hand-tack in place to achieve this.

4. Turn the work over and trim the crinoline close to the stitches. Fluff the petals to give the flower life. Singe raw edges of flower, if desired.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Silk Lotus Flower - Martha Stewart Crafts