Recently, I finished a pretty pink scarf (see my FO Friday post on the Pinky Pink Rose Ruffled Scarf).  The pattern included directions for a very pretty knitted rose, along with directions to “Sew rose onto a round piece of felt using whipstitch and attach pin back or small stitch holder.”  There was a clear photo of the finished look of the back of the pin, but having never done this before … I was a tad intimidated.  I sought council with my friend Susie, who has made many (many!) beautiful jewelry pieces using beads, precious metal clay, et al.  She gave me some great advice, and I set out to Jo-Anns to see if I could find what I needed.

Success!  At first I thought of using one of the stitch holders I found in the knitting section, but they were all too long for my rose.  In the jewelry-making area I found the perfect size of pin, and it even had loops (for charms) that I could use to secure it to the rose in a non-slip manner. I also bought some neutral-colored felt, and dug up some heavy-duty interfacing to help support the weight of the rose, and cut both into circles (felt slightly larger than interfacing).  Quilting thread and a sturdy needle round out my list of materials and tools.

First, I marked pencil lines on the interfacing where I wanted holes to admit the pin:

Then, I cut the holes and threaded the pin through:

I secured the pin to the rose with many messy loops of thread:

Then, I hid the mess under the interfacing — poof!

I tacked down the interfacing to further stabilize everything:

Next, I cut holes in the felt, and threaded it onto the pin:

I whip-stitched around the edge of the felt to hold it in place:

Voila! A pretty rose pin!