How To: Anita's No Sew Snowflakes

My mom came up with this idea for our next store front display. Of course I had to jump in and make some,then I thought... why not write a simple "how to"?
Well okay, so here's my first "how to" post.
Enjoy.
Quick, easy and fun, this no sew project is a great project for a case of the "I'm bored" blues, or perhaps for the "I have so much to do that I don't want to, so I'll do this instead" blues. Anyhow, for what ever the reason you should give it a try. Make then on your own, involve a friend or the kiddies. Anyone who is safe with scissors can do this one.

It's just like paper snowflakes you may have made when you were a kid (or last year), except with fabric and that o' so wonderful "WonderUnder" also known as heat and bond.

You will need:
several coordinating fabrics
heat and bond
sharp scissors
rotary cutter
straight edge/acrylic grid ruler
cutting mat

Note: I used 6 coordinating fat quarters and about 2 yards of WonderUnder (you could also use some of those scraps I know you have stowed away some where).

Here's the step by step..
1. Fuse 2 coordinating prints together following the instructions that came with your "WonderUnder" (I used Pellon brand)2. Cut several squares in various sizes, for best results I recommend cutting no larger then 8"x8" and no smaller then 3"x3".3. Take your squares to the ironing board. One at a time, fold each square diagonally to form a triangle and press. Fold a second time to form an even smaller triangle, and press once more on either side, holding for a few seconds (the flatter the better).4. Now for the cool part. Take your pressed triangles and cut into all three sides. Experiment with the different shapes and sizes of your cuts. Curvy cuts have a great effect.
5. Unfold.6.Press out, admire and smile. No two snowflakes are ever the same.
Now cut some more and have a good time. String them up and hang them anywhere you need a little cheer. Note: you may want to use a heavy starch for your final pressing to achieve a stiffer flake for hanging purposes.

Feeling ambitious? Try appliquéing your snowflakes on some tea towels, a child's t-shirt or any project you like. For the purpose of appliquéing there is no need to make your flake double-sided, simply iron on your heat and bond to the wrong side of your fabric leaving the paper backing attached while continue on with the rest of the steps. Remove backing when you are ready to iron onto t-shirt or other, then finish off with a tiny whip stitch in a thread matching your snowflake fabric.

Share with us what you make, this project or any other at our new shoppe flickr group.
We love seeing what you've made from the fabrics we sell.

Your Shoppe Blogger,
April