411 T-Shirt Rose Wreath

There are a lot of wonderful fabric rose tutorials on the internet, so I am not really showing you anything new. My favorite, and the inspiration for my wreath, is Alisa Burke's Recycled Roses Wreath Tutorial. Look around her whole site because there is SO much inspiration to be found. Her work is definitely drool worthy.
I was folding laundry when I found one of Chip's t-shirts that needed to be tossed, and the fabric roses sprang to mind. I have drawers and a closet full of t-shirts that don't fit or have acquired a stain that needed to be removed anyway, so I grabbed a few and got to work.
One problem ... I didn't have a wreath form. And honestly, I did not want to spend a cent. I am trying to use up my stash and stuff that is on hand, so I grabbed a roll of felt I had found on the remnant table. My circles are common sizes .... the outer circle is from a pie plate and the inner circle is from a salsa bowl. My measuring system is quite scientific.

I sewed around the entire interior circle, and then I started on the outer circle. Every several inches I stopped to stuff. It is the only way, or the only way that won't drive you nuts. You also want to FIRMLY stuff the wreath form or it will be too floppy to support your roses.For my roses I started by cutting strips of t-shirt. I just cut off the hem at the waist and started cutting up from there. Strips can be any size, but I found the best width to be about 1.5inches. Most roses were made with a length of t-shirt that was the original width of the t-shirt, though I used smaller lengths toward the end to fill in holes.

To start your rose just tie a knot in the end. You can use hot glue or craft glue, but I chose to sew all of my roses. I anchored my embroidery floss in the knot before I started and then began to form the rose.I did not take pictures of the rose formation, but there are great pictures if you follow the link to Alisa Burke's site. Basically you just wrap your strip of cloth around the knot, twisting it as you go to provide a little roll and contrast for your "petals". For sewing the roses I found it best to totally create the rose before I began anchoring the layers. Also, SAVE YOUR FINGERS, I finally used my smarticles and grabbed the needle nosed pliers to help me pull the needle through all of those layers. I sewed the roses in a pattern that I can only liken to an asterisk to make sure each layer was secure. (the first several were loose and poorly anchored) As I finished each rose I attached them to the wreath form. I tried to make sure there was enough extra thread from securing the rose petals to attach it to the wreath. It provided a little more security that way. If you could see my stitches you would cringe, but you will never see them, so just do what you have to in order to make the roses stay still.Connor even loves the wreath. I did NOT make him put it on his head, but I did make him sit still for the picture.Just place the roses as you make them, building around the wreath until it is fully covered. All of my roses are t-shirt material other than the two yellow and the one white rose.

Compared to Alisa Burke's wreath mine is a sad imitation, but I am loving it anyway. Katie asked for it right away, but I am letting it hang out in the living room for now. We have made several crafty projects lately, and hopefully I will have a chance to share another one soon.