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Time: 30 mins

on your clothes, in your hair - they can bloom anywhere!
I got some of that new fancy duct tape recently, cause I wanted to try and make duct tape roses for my wedding. Too bad it turns out I'm not any good at making those - I hate to see anything shiny go to waste, however. So I made these instead! Much easier. And its cool that there are so many colors of duct tape now, and you can use any color of rhinestone or button in the middle.

Posted by ErsatzEpiphany from Seattle, Washington, United States • Published 10th August 2010 • See ErsatzEpiphany's 103 projects »

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Lola Ebola entered her project Versatile Duct Tape Flower to Hardware Store Decor Contest 25 Sep 09:59

Step 1
First, gather your supplies. I use the super bright and shiny duct tape, in silver. (I want to get more colors so I can really make a bouquet of these!) A sharp pair of scissors (duct tape can be a pain to cut!) and your thin, flexible beading wire. You'll also want an embroidery needle that's a bit thicker and more sturdy than a regular sewing needle - and has a larger eye. It also really helps to have a glue gun on hand, and a tiny scrap of felt.

You don't need a cat to complete this project. (Mine just likes to supervise.) =P
Step 2
I use the flexible but strong 3-strand Acculon. Its nice and thin and coated, so its easy to thread and get through the tape when you stitch.
Step 3
Cut a strip of tape. For the flowers I've made so far, I use around 18" of tape. This makes a flower that is around 2" x 2" when finished. Then, cut yourself a length of stringing wire. I use about a foot of wire for each flower.
Step 4
Fold your tape in half, carefully. Try to keep air bubbles out, and try to keep it even. (I'm not very good at this, I always have to trim any sticky areas off that are showing!)
Step 5
Thread your needle with the wire. I tie one knot to keep the thread from slipping through the needle eye, and two near the end, to hold it in place when stitching the length of the tape.

Fold over a small bit of tape at one end, and pierce it. From here, start doing a running stitch close to the bottom of your strip. The stitches don't even need to be the same size, it will make the "flower" more realistic if they vary in length and distance apart.
Step 6
The stitches don't need to be tight at this point, either. They should resemble something like this photo, though.
Step 7
When you get towards the end of your tape, begin pushing it down some, so that folds and gathers start to form.

At the end, use one hand to hold the tape, and push it down. The wire should be strong enough to not break here, so if it sticks a bit, go ahead and keep trying to slide it into these pleats.
Step 8
The tape is going to start making a sort of spiral shape. This helps make the round shape later, when you're forming your flower. Stitch a couple of stitches that won't slip on the end and trim the excess wire.
Step 9
At this point, you should plug in your glue gun.

This could be done with the wire and needle, I suppose, but since I'm not that great at sewing (and I am a little lazy sometimes!) so I use the glue gun.

Fold the tape up into a "flower". This can take some practice, don't be afraid to play around with it. Make sure that the hole in the middle isn't too large to hold the rhinestone you want to use as the center.
Step 10
Put a dab of glue under the end of tape in the back and middle of your flower.

Then, carefully apply a circular area of hot glue to the center. Place your rhinestone gently on top, and don't push too hard. Let that glue harden.
Step 11
Flip your flower over. Use the glue gun to glue down any areas or pleats you think should be tighter. Apply glue carefully to the flat area on the back. This is where your bit of felt will go.
Step 12
The pad of felt gives the flower a little more stability and helps if you want to put it on a pin back or barrette or something later!
Step 13
Ta-da! You're finished, once the glue has completely cooled.

The first couple that I made don't look perfect, but I think that sort of makes them even cooler. Not only can you wear these or put them on a pin and attach them to your purse or backpack, I think they'd also make really special "bows" for gifts.