Sunday, April 21, 2013

Scattered Flowers DIY Top Tutorial

I made this nude top a couple of weeks ago and pondered different embellishments options for a while.  I ultimately decided on a scattered floral motif.

Experimenting...

Difficulty:  Embellishing - easy, Top - average
Time:  1 hour to embellish, ~1.5 hours for the top

Materials:
  • Existing DIY'ed Top (DIY instructions here)
  • Silk flowers (I should probably note that I'm not sure how this will behave in the washer.  I'm guessing it will be fine in gentle wash with cold water, but I won't toss it in the dryer.)
What to do:
1.  Pluck the flowers off of the stem
2.  Lay out your general flower design and mark it (I use chalk) like the first photo.  Add a few stitches to the center of each flower and backstitch to secure.
3.  Follow Step 2 for all of your flowers and you'll wind up like #3 pictured above.  Snip off the extraneous threads from the front and back.

I wound up liking the semi-ruched look, so kept the back stitches intact on one shoulder :)

Scattered Flowers DIY Top
Polka Dot Skirt DIY (original post here)
Basketweave Crossbody from HK
Talbots Sandals

13 comments:

  1. I like the simplicity of this. I've wanted to make something similar for a while but the thought of handmaking flowers kept me from it; I never thought to use silk flowers! I can't wait to try this myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Maybe try tossing a silk flower into the wash to see what happens? I probably should have done that before this project :P

      Delete
  2. This is gorgeous--what a great idea to use silk flowers! I am thinking I might try something like this for my Kentucky Derby dress (to match my hat, of course!). Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tam! Would love to see your Kentucky Derby ensemble!

      Delete
  3. I think a few years ago J.Crew had a dress with scattered flowers in the same scheme as yours. The colors matched, so it was kind of hard to make out that they're flowers unless you looked up close. I also found a tank from Talbots a few months later, but after washing it a few times, the flowers looked like wrinkly ruffles, haha. Always a fan of your DIYs, S!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good thing I only gingerly / infrequently wash clothes (um, sorry, I know that sounds gross). Hoping that makes it better or else no harm done, can always stitch new ones on :)

      Delete
  4. i love them both! definitely does have a jcrew vibe. i don't remember seeing the nude one before, maybe i missed that post?

    ReplyDelete
  5. gorgeous! i can't pick a favourite. you always have the best ideas!

    xo P

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is cute! I saw something similar in Ann Taylor this week and literally laughed at the price tag :P Love your version.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a pretty top! Love your new basketweave purse, too.

    Enjoying catching up on your posts...I am getting pretty hungry looking at all the food. :)

    The Hong Kong bargaining one was interesting! Glad to hear they are cracking down on items being passed off as the real thing. Never liked stealing intellectual property. :) You got some great deals! I am awful with trying to talk someone into lowering a price! But I will keep your tips in mind. :)

    ReplyDelete

I'm the type of gal who gets giddy when I receive mail - it's no different with comments! I really appreciate the feedback and love hearing from you :)