Zipper Flower

Today I have a tutorial posted on the Off The Rails Scrapbooking Blog
on how to make a zipper flower.

Most crafters have a stash of supplies.  I'm no exception and found some metal zippers in my stash form back in the day when I did a lot of sewing.  This stash of zippers inspired me to try my hand at making a zipper flower. 

For this gathered flower I used a 14" piece of zipper.  I removed the end with the metal tab and separated the zipper into two parts.  I used my sewing machine and made a gathering stitch the length of the zipper.  (You could also do this by hand stitching.)

 

 

Once the stitching was completed I pulled the thread and gathered the whole

length of the zipper tape at once.

 

 

I trimmed and folded one end of the zipper tape and used a hot glue gun to secure it.

 

 

 

The next step you will have to "fiddle" with.  But basically if you keep the zipper teeth up and the gathered tape down, the flower will wind itself into position.

I also placed some glue on the back side of the flower to secure it.  (You could also tack the end down with a few hand stitches.)  I placed a small flower from my stash in the center. (You could also use a button or gem for the center.)

Now I have to decide if I'm using this flower on a card or a layout?