How to make a Brooch (10 DIY tutorials)

A brooch is an ornament fastened to clothes with a pin and catch. When you think of a brooch the image that comes to your mind is that of a metal one, with quite intricate details and exquisite beauty. But not all brooches are metallic. You can make them with fabric too, and they will turn out just as beautiful.

Make your own fabric brooches

1. Butterfly brooch

This brooch is made by attaching two wings of the butterfly cut out from felt.

String some round beads,  with a bigger head bead to make up the body and keep aside.

Keep a piece  of felt stiffened with interfacing or a piece of fake leather.

Place the wings layered on top of this piece. Keep the body along the center.

With needle and thread attach all of them together with couching stitches

Keep the pin to the back, place a piece of felt or fake leather across the pin; using adhesive gum ( the instant kind) attach the piece across the pin. This will fix the pin in place.

2. Embroidered brooches

Embroider your favourite design on fabric. Check out the tutorial for making embroidered fabric patches on the correct steps to make this. Use your favourite colours to embroider your design. Cut it out; paint the edges with black paint or make blanket stitches all around the embroidered brooch piece

Attach the pin to the patch as done earlier for transforming it into a brooch.

For another variation, check out this post on making beaded clothing patches.

3. Felt layered flower brooch

Cut out three or more petal layers like this

Keep it one on top of the other.

Make a flower center with seed beads

4. Fabric flower brooch

Use fabric flowers to make similar brooches like this one. Check out the tutorial for making fabric roses, ribbon rose flowers etc for ideas.

You can make quite pretty flowers with simple satin/silk/nylon ribbons and keep on your brooch. Check out the tutorial to make How to make a flower with ribbon here. 

Or for making rosettes.

More flower making tutorials here – 10 different types of flowers you can make with fabric – the 5 petal flower is especially suited for making fabric brooches

5. Bead embroidery brooch

Cut out a 2 small circle shaped pieces of canvas thick interfacing. Keep them sticky side together and press with hot iron so that they fuse together. Make small holes with a thicker needle if you want to, so that bead needle will penetrate easily.

Make the petals all around this circle. You will have to thread some 20 + seed beads on the thread. Bring down the needle very close to where you came up to make each petal.After you have made all the petals embellish the center with more beads. I have used bugle beads and one seed bead to fill the center.

Attach a bigger piece of felt to the back of this flower – on which the petals should be attached with couching stitches. 

6. Bugle bead embroidery brooch

This flower is made the same way as the earlier bead brooch. Simply use longer bugle beads ;

Come up to the top of the circle with your needle and thread; thread two bugle beads, one small bead, two bugle beads. Go back very near to where you came up – this will make you one petal. 

7. Applique type fabric brooch

This is a sort of 3D brooch – with fabric folds forming a wonderful texture on the brooch.

To make this brooch you need felt and satin or silk fabric pieces for the applique.

Mark the design on a piece of felt.( Interface the felt piece if you want the brooch to have stiffness)

Cut out fabric pieces ( preferably satin or silk) slightly bigger than the design elements. You need to get folds inside the design which is why they are cut bigger.

Keep the fabric pieces inside the design, and using running stitches attach the fabric pieces like in the picture below

Attach beads along the outline

Do not make the center part, the body made of beads, now ( as I have done – this should be done after the design is cut out.I had to reattach the beads after the design was cut)

Cut out the design close to the beads. Make the body of the butterfly with beads. Attach pin and use.

8. Padded Brooch.

I have used two pieces of denim fabric scraps cut in the shape of the design, embellished the front part with lace and beads and attached a felt piece on the back piece to attach the pin.

Keep the two pieces right sides together. Stitch the two pieces together along the edge, except two inches or so; Turn the piece right side out through this space. Fill the piece with fiberfill or more fabric scraps. Stitch the hole closed with slip stitches. Attach the pin with gum to the back of the piece.

9. Bead edged brooch

This brooch is made out of felt and decorated with some hand embroidery stitches along with beads. What makes this brooch stand apart is the beaded edge. Check out the post on different types of bead edges you can use for making this type of brooch

Keep the two pieces of felt one on top of the other

Make decorative hand stitches – you can use beading stitches (check out the post on different beading stitches here) to fill the brooch with bead embroidery work

For making the edges – String three beads and then anchor them along the edge by passing the needle through the last bead again. Tighten, then continue.

Attach interfacing cut to shape to the back of the felt for more stiffness.

Attach pin.

10. Faux-leather brooch

The last brooch which is the easiest one is made by cutting fake leather in the design of your choice. Attach felt to the back with gum for stiffness. Attach rhinestones for the sparkle (keep rhinestones on the piece, non sparkly side down, keep a pressing cloth on top, then press with a warm iron). Attach a pin to the back – that is it. 

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