Nature’s inspired cotton jersey flower bouquet

For each small mum, you’ll need two cut strips of cotton jersey (see the dimensions at right), or a total of the sixty strips to make six large mums.

Using your garment scissors, cut sixty strips of cotton jersey in different colors, each 1 ½” x 20”. Switching to your embroidery scissors, cut slits about ¼” apart along each strip, stopping ½” from the bottom edge.

Select two of the fabric strips you cut in Step 1, align their edges, and roll them together along their uncut edge.

Thread your needle, “love” your thread, and knot off. Secure the uncut, rolled bottom edges of the two strips making up a small mum by stitching through all layers several times to join them. Repeat the process to create four more small mums.

Make a stem for each large mum by cutting a piece of floral wire to your desired length and twisting a loop in one end of the wire by rolling the wire around your finger.

Attach the five small mums to each stem by sewing them through and around the stem’s loop.

Fold the green cotton-jersey fabric in half. Using your garment scissors and the Flat Leaf pattern below; cut out the leaf pattern to get two flat leaves to make one finished leaf. Repeat to make additional leaves for each mum.

Align each pair of cut flat leaves, with the wrong sides of the fabric together, and pin them in place. Thread your needle, love your thread, and stitch around the leaf ¼” away from the cut edges, using a straight stitch to join the two layers.

Sew one or two finished flat leaves to each completed mum where the stem and flower meet.