How to make leather flowers

Like flower petals, leather is a natural material. It's soft and can be as robust as a calla lily or as delicate as a cherry blossom.

Unlike real flowers, leather is durable - leather flowers will never wilt! It's also easy to work with - many people think you need lots of specialised tools to work with leather, but the rose in the intro picture was made with nothing more than sharp scissors, a bowl of warm water, and a little bit of string!

Leather flowers add a touch of elegance to clothing, bags and jewellery that it is hard to achieve with even the best silk flowers.

Unlike many other leather crafts, you actually need very little equipment to start making leather flowers.

The first thing you'll need, obviously, is some leather. Try to pick leather with a smooth surface on the flesh side - if it is a little ragged then you can sand it gently, but too much sanding will make it less absorbent so it will not soak properly. You can buy leather for the purpose at a craft store, or recycle old shoes, bags or leather clothing. Match the thickness of your leather to the type of flower you are making - the more delicate the flower, the thinner leather you can use. This gives your handcrafted leather flowers a natural look.

A pair of strong sharp scissors is a must. You want your cuts to be neat and clean. I use a good quality pair of general-purpose craft scissors.

For moulding, you'll need a bowl and some warm water. A bain marie can speed up the process, though the hotter the water the more brittle your finished product will be.

Most moulding can be done with your hands and a little effort, but you may want to experiment with using forms. These don't have to be expensive purpose-made forms, you could use the back of a spoon, a large marble, or pebbles as rounded and oval forms.

Though not essential - in a pinch you can use a hammer and nail to make holes - a good leather punch comes in very useful if you plan to work with leather a lot.

You'll also need some way of fixing layers and parts together. Rubber cement works well for glueing, if you want to sew your flowers - either in construction or to attach them to things later - then punch holes for the stitches and sew together with a stout needle and waxed thread. Leather will wear through normal sewing thread fairly quickly.

The simplest way to make a leather flower is to cut out rings of petals and stack them in layers, fixing in the centre with glue or stitches.

Fold a piece of paper as if you were cutting a paper snowflake, and cut out the petal shape you want. Open up the paper, and trace the flower shape you just cut out onto the reverse side of your leather, then cut it out with sharp scissors. Now do the same again, making a smaller flower shape this time. Add as many layers as you want, then either glue them together, or punch holes right through and secure the layers together with a few stitches.

For more easy leather flower crafts, why not check out this cute leather flower hair accessory, or how to make a leather flower embellished card case?

Sophisticated 3D leather flowers can be made by moulding. Moulding leather involves soaking it until it is soft enough to be shaped with the hands or over a form.

To make moulded leather flowers, begin by making a petal pattern. The shape of the pattern depends on the flower you are making - for example, here's how to make a leather rose.

Trace your pattern onto the back of the leather, and cut out.

Put your leather pieces into warm water to soak until they are completely saturated and somewhat squishy to the touch. If you find you have stiff dry spots, work them with your fingers until soaked through. When the leather is soaked, lay it between a folded soft cloth and press out the excess water.

Now you're ready to mould your flowers. Work the leather with your hands, moulding, creasing, stretching and rolling into the desired shape. You can tie your pieces with string to help them retain their shape while they dry, but don't tie it so tightly as to mark the leather.

Leave the pieces to dry completely. You can use a little heat from a hairdryer if they are taking a long time, but be careful as this can make your leather dry and brittle.

When all your pieces are dry, glue or stitch them together as required.

Whetted your appetite? Check out this illustrated leather flower tutorial.

I'll be adding more leather flower tutorials, so do come back and visit this lens!