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After writing my fabric flower tutorial, I realized you could use the same concept to make fabric shamrocks! With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I’m making these on repeat.
This tutorial teaches you how to make adorable fabric shamrocks with a charm squares. These are 5″ pieces of precut-quilting fabric. I buy all my charm packs from Green Fairy Quilts because I love their selection and prices. Plus I like supporting a small family business.
* You can make one shamrock per charm square. You can also use mini charms, which are 2.5″ precut squares. If using mini charms, you will need 4 squares.
I designed the circle to be the perfect size for fitting 4 circles on one charm square. However, you can use any fabric for this project. It’s a great way to use up scraps!
This is a free PDF pattern download in my Ko-Fi shop. I’ve enabled pay-what-you-can pricing for all my patterns. Donations help me make more patterns! If you need help accessing my patterns, read my help article.
Tracing & Cutting the Circles
Print the pattern out at 100% scale. Check that the scale box measures 1″, then cut out the circle template.
Lay the fabric face down with the wrong side facing you.
Lay the template in the corner as close as you can to the edge.
Trace around the circle with a pen or fabric chalk. You won’t really see the raw edges, so I used a regular pen.
Move the template to another corner, trace it on, and repeat. Your circles may be touching each other on the edges, but try not to make them overlap.
When all four circles are traced, use a sharp pair of fabric scissors to cut the circles out.
Sewing the Leaves
Thread a needle with matching thread and tie a secure knot at the end. I like giving myself extra length so I can use the same thread to attach buttons or other embellishments at the end.
Take a circle and fold it in half to create a half-circle. The wrong sides should be touching and the right side should face you.
Do a basting stitch along the curved edge of the half-circle starting at one edge and working your way to the other side. A basting stitch is when you poke the needle through the fabric from front to back, then from back to front about 1/4″ away from the first hole.
When you reach the other edge of the half circle, gather the fabric so it is bunched up at the end snugly against the knot. Without cutting the thread, take another circle, fold it, baste along the edge, and gather it next to the first leaf. Repeat until all 4 leaves are gathered.
Finishing the Shamrock
After all 4 leaves are sewn, hold the leaves in a ring so that the first and last leaves are touching to create a circle. Make a few more stitches around the circle to hold it in place.
Before cutting the thread, decide what you want to do with the center of the shamrock. You can use the same thread to sew on a button or other embellishment.
On a shamrock, buttons can make it look more like a flower than a clover. So my favorite way to decorate these is to glue a piece of fabric to a regular button, then tuck the fabric around the button to the back. Then place the button in the center of the clover and stitch it to the leaves.
You can also make your own fabric buttons with a special button-making tool. Experiment with a few options and see what you like!
It didn’t occur to me until after making my video and writing the pattern that you could just use green buttons and it will look less like a flower. I don’t have many buttons in my stash so I guess I forgot green buttons exist… 😂
How to Use Fabric Shamrocks
You can make so many different projects with these fabric shamrocks!
Attach a magnet to the back to create fridge magnets.
Sew them to a barette or headband.
Attach a bar-back pin to make a brooch.
Sew them onto a wreath.
String them together to create a garland.
The list goes on! I’d love to see what you come up with! Tag me @craftingwithclementine on social media or use #craftingwithclementine
