With being a European and growing up in a country that always ended up between two forces of both World Wars I have many of my male ancestors serving in an army. Sometimes the same family members were fighting even on opposing sides. Not by choice but due to geography and the war zones.
So I have a lot of reason to participate in the Remembrance Day activities. To Remember the wasted lives, the unfair life and not having a choice. I have a choice now on how I want to remember the heroes of the times bygone. And that for sure is not by pinning a plastic poppy to the lapel of my coat! In fact, the wreath laying at the Cenotaph makes me angry. I cannot stop thinking of the waste that is going to be produced by those black plastic poppy centres. There is even a guilt that by remembering the previous generations we are destroying the lives of the future ones by polluting the Earth with even more plastic waste.
If you share the same feeling, then this tutorial will be helpful in showing how you can sew Remembrance Day poppy without contributing to the evergrowing piles of rubbish. By following the guide, you will create a poppy that you can even wash without distroying it and reuse it as many times as you wish. Even as an accessory for altogether unrelated event.
The outline for the guide on how to sew Remembrance Day poppy
I will start by listing the materials required, then explain how to make the pattern before cutting and sewing the pieces together.
Materials required to sew Remembrance Day poppy
- A4 or similar size paper
- Scissors for cutting paper
- Red cotton fabric for petals
- Black cotton fabric for centre of the poppy
- Matching thread
- Cotton ball
- A sharp piece of soap or chalk
- Hand sewing needle
Drafting pattern for Remembrance Day poppy
Fold A4 sized paper in quarters and cut one quarter off. Then fold this quarter of paper in quarters, with folded centre in the bottom left corner.
Then fold the bottom up to meet the left side, to make a triangle, as if to make a snowflake.
Next, cut the top off the same hight, with a curved line.
Make the cut a little deeper on the right side and almost straight at the left.
This will create a flower with four petals.
Make another flower the same way, but slightly smaller and you can experiment with how deep you make the cut on the right side.
Next, you will need to make two different sizes circles for the centre of the poppy. One should be with a diamater of around 7cm and the other with a diameter of around 4 cm. The measurements are aproximate and you can either use a compass, small round objects to race or make another triangle from the 1/4 sheet of A4 paper cutting the top with a slight curve to create a somewhat round shape.
Sewing the Remembrance Day poppy
Cut four pieces of the red cotton fabric that are 2 cm wider and 2 cm taller than the flower templates. Cut out four pieces of black fabric that are 2 cm wider and 2 cm taller than the patterns for the flower centres. Place two pieces of red fabric together with right sides facing and trace the flower pattern on them with a soap or chalk, repeat the same for the other petal and the circles.
Pin the pieces together.
Then sew the pieces together,using the traced line as a seam guide, leaving a gap for turning. Take it slow when going around the curves and corners. To make the turning easier, try making the corners rounded rather than sharp.
Next, trim the seam allowances close to the seam, slightly less than 0.5 cm from the seam, leavingwider seam allowance at the gap for turning. Cut the deep curves very carefully, not cutting shrough them.
Turn the pieces inside out and iron flat. The turning will be a bit tricky as the pieces of the Remembrance Day poppy are quite small. I use a knitting needle to help but you can use chopstick or crochet hook, even a retracted pen. Anything with a blunt end.
Then hand sew together the opening gaps.
Next, hand sew together the petals, around 0.5cm. This will create a 3 dimentional flower.
Arrange the flower petalals with the smaller pice on top of the bigger piece. Place the smaller circle on top of the flower and secure with a few stitches.
Then, hand sew a running stitch all around the bigger black circle, close to the edge, using a double thread. Leave long tails for pulling later.
Pull the tails, to gather the circle. It helps if you push the fabric to one side. Leave enough space for the filling.
Then, fill the piece with cotton woolor you can use the fabric offcuts or old knitting wool if you do not have the cotton ball. Pull the threads even tighter and tie a knot.
Attach the pistil to the rest of the Remembrance Day poppy. I find it helps if I turn the flower a little bit inside out, to easier access the centre.
The last thing to do is to attach the safety pin to the back of the flower. It is best to use a smaller safety pin si that flower does not bob to much. Or you can attach the flower to your clothing with pin facing vertically rathen than horizontally.
Washing the Remembrance day poppy
If you accidentally make the poppy dirty, I would recommend it to wash it by hand. While technically it can be put in the washing machine in a bag (or tied pillowcase, I would refrain from doing it. Firstly, because there is a safety pin attach to the back of the poppy that can come loose and get stuck in the washing machine. Secondly, the seam allowances on the Remembrance Day poppy are quite narrow and the agitation in the washing machine can pop them.
Conclusion
It is quite easy to sew Remembrance Day poppy. The small pieces can give a little trouble when turning but that is the only challenging part. The whole project does not take much time at all and you can even use scraps to make the flower. Furthermore, if you use different coloured fabrics you can even make other decorative flowers. The project lends itself well to hand sewing too and if would be quite a fun project to make with children over 7 years of age. (Or younger if they are sensible and treat the sewing needle with a respect that it demands).
