How do you make a perfectly round brooch?
Here’s the method by Vili from @vilka.co.uk.
She uses several techniques with the materials to achieve clean lines and three-dimensional embroidery.
It all starts with choosing soft felt and a palette of colored threads.
To ensure precision, use a disappearing marker — an indispensable tool for outlining the cutting circle and sketching the embroidery design itself. That way, there’s no need to worry if you make a mistake on a line—it will simply disappear later.
For the embroidery itself, Vili uses cotton yarn, which she separates into its individual strands. The curling of the thread that results from unraveling it adds volume and texture to the flowers. This makes them stand out more and look more lifelike.
Instead of stuffing the brooch with cotton, which sometimes causes unevenness, Vili uses a wooden washer as a base. First, she runs a tapper along the edge of the felt, places the wooden base, and tightens the thread. This way, the back is clean and neat, without any unnecessary creases.
Finally, all that’s left is to secure the metal pin to the back using hot silicone.
This technique can be used for both soft felt and cotton fabrics.
