We have made a few different crepe paper irises over the years. So it’s about time we make a felt version! Designed by Krista, this felt bearded iris is a great intermediate project — perfect for anyone who has made a few of our felt flowers and is ready for something more challenging. 

When you’re ready to make your irises, check out all of the supplies we linked below. As always, you can use the same felt colors we did or choose your own and make different variations.

Bearded Beauty

Iris is the Greek goddess of rainbows, which makes sense as bearded irises come in many shapes and colors. But the periwinkle blue ones can be quite striking. Also periwinkle is the color of the year for 2022, so we had to make our felt bearded iris flowers in this soft pretty color!

For a bit of variation, we used three shades within the periwinkle color family. This along with using a periwinkle marker to draw veins onto your petals will also make your felt flower arrangement look more realistic. Along with showing you how to add color to your felt bearded iris flowers, our tutorial will also show you how to ruffle and curve the petals to give your flowers a more sculptural look.

If you have any questions, just comment below! And don’t forget to share photos of your felt bearded iris flowers on our Facebook page for members or with the hashtag #MadeWithLia on Instagram. 

Skill level: Intermediate

Crafting tips: Cut your felt petals by hand for a more realistic shape. Also, the colors of felt will ruffle differently due to differences in stiffness and density. 

Tools

• Cricut Maker or Silhouette Cameo 4 (recommended)
• Detail Scissors 
• Low-Temp Hot Glue Gun
• Needle-Nose Pliers/Wire Cutters

Materials

• Lia Griffith’s Wool Blend Felt — Hydrangea, Periwinkle, Bluebell, Buttercup, and Juniper
• 24-Gauge Green Paper-Covered Wire or White Paper-Covered Wire
• Thick Paper Covered Stem Wire
• Floral Tape — Lia Griffith Fern
• Art Markers — Tombow Peacock Blue (533)
• Aleene’s Stiffen-Quick Fabric Stiffening Spray

How to Make a Felt Bearded Iris

1. Gather your craft tools and materials. Then download the pattern below.
2. Cut out felt according to pattern using a cutting machine (recommended) or scissors.
3. Cut the medium and large felt petals in half.
4. Glue a 24-gauge floral wire (white or green) close to the straight cut edge, about 2/3 of the way up.

Full tutorial available for members to download below.

Explore More

While this felt bearded iris is the first of its kind, we have other felt flowers (and plants!) for you to make too. Or, if you want to branch out from felt crafts, take a look at all of our paper flowers.