Thursday, October 08, 2009

DIY flowers

3 comments

I've found some tutorials online to help me make my hair piece so i don't have to buy one *grins* i'm no cheapskate, i'm just creative! And i thought i'd share. Here's one with readymade petals and the other made completely from scratch. Might also make a couple of these to put on my sandals. It's way cheaper than buying sparklies.

So i bought 2 meters (i bought extra just in case i mess up the first few rounds) of cheap green fabric from ever-faithful Kamdar. What a steal. I bought the same fabric in white for the lining of my dress. I'm a genius. (Channelling inner Elvis : Thank you, thank you very much..) I also gathered some gold beads(can't remember how much) and some existing beads i already have and the ribbons i bought earlier.
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I just cut the petals into random round shapes with varying sizes and burned the edges. When i tried to sew it all together, this was what happened:
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It's not too bad, but it's a little misshapen and floppy. So next i tried a different technique to putting it together:
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It looks much better, but still floppy. Maybe some hairspray will work:
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Yay! End product : Fantastic! I shall make a few more of these for my bridesmaids and my shoes and maybe even for other decor, since it turned out so well.

Here's another alternative i considered too:
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Some tips in case you'd like to try it yourself:
  1. When burning the edges, be quick. Depending on your fabric, it may or may not burn real fast and leave you with a curled up bunch of ash. Yes, it happens. 
  2. Go slow. Pin the biggest petals together first, sew, pin the next layer, sew on and so forth. It's tedious, but it guarantees the right shape that you want to achieve.
  3. If your petals still don't stay right, sew it to 'em! Just sew them together wherever it's loose or floppy. It won't be noticable and nobody looks that close anyway. 
  4. If you still can't get it to stay right, glue works too. And the hairspray helps keep them in shape.

3 comments :

  1. Wah nice! I like the first ones you made.. I think it's more personal when you DIY all this.. You've got talent babe! =)

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  2. thank yous thank you alls very the much! yea, i like the personal touch to it too...

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