military-inspired corsage

Yes, I know, same old, same old. But I'm not going to give reasons for not writing, it's boring and no-one cares.

Instead - project!

I was in DFO a few weeks ago, and saw some of those huge maxi-dresses at Industrie - you know the type, t-shit fabric and super long. So I picked up a couple because I can never find any decent t-shirt fabric, and they were cheap, cheap, cheap! They are destined for many new garments, but this is the first:

1. The dress. I bought a small (they're all pretty big though) but only because it was the largest one in the shop. If you're buying clothes for repurposing, bigger is better! It's a poly/viscose/elastane blend, but for $7 I'm not worried. The fabric feels nice, and I'm not looking for anything with huge long-term wear.2. I cut off a few inches from the bottom hem, in a strip. 3. Then I used a darning needle to thread yarn in BIG stitches along the raw edge. I used most of the front piece - you'll see when you've got enough by gathering the stitches as you go. (Yes, that's sock yarn.)
4. Gather tightly and tie off. 5. Stitch up the raw side pieces (you're admiring my crappy hand-stitching, aren't you?).
6. Now, the middle of your corsage will be raw, so you'll need to cover it up. I was lucky enough to find these vintage military buttons recently, so had plenty to choose from. I finally selected this anchor, and found a brooch-backing in my jewellery-making stash.7. Stitch the button into the centre of your corsage. If it has a shank, you probably want to tug it into the centre of the corsage, in amongst the raw edges, so it doesn't rattle around. Now stitch or hot-glue the brooch backing onto the back of your corsage. This fabric is pretty drop-y, so I'll probably stick a bit of hot-glue discretely around the front of the button to make sure the fabric sticks out neatly.
I may turn the top half of this dress into a tank, it doesn't look half bad! I think I get bonus style points for the tracky-pants underneath ;)Stay tuned for more repurposed maxi-dress projects!

Peace out,
Ms Spider xxx