How to Make an Eco-Friendly Corsage
April 1st, 2009
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Fabulous flowers in Earth-friendly fabrics are fashionable AND conscientious.
Erika Kern
These beautiful flowers add a simple touch of spring to any outfit.
Erika Kern
Most fabric stores have a small section of organic fabrics; just ask at the cutting desk if you can't find it right away. Here's a selection of organic cotton and bamboo jersey found at my local shop.
Erika Kern
Fabulous flowers in Earth-friendly fabrics are fashionable AND conscientious.
Photo: Erika Kern
Spring is here! Finally! This project is a great way to make last year's spring styles pop and still be eco-friendly. The fabrics are organic, the gems are reused, and if you ride your bike to the fabric store, your carbon footprint will be as small as your flower is fab! That is to say very small and very fab.
Here's what you'll need:
- 2-1/3-yard lengths of organic jersey in contrasting colors (I used organic cotton and bamboo)
- Thread
- Needle
- Broken costume jewelery
- Pliers
- Sew-on pinback
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Most fabric stores have a small section of organic fabrics; just ask at the cutting desk if you can't find it right away. Here's a selection of organic cotton and bamboo jersey found at my local shop. |
Before you start cutting, make a pattern.
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Use papers heading for the recycle bin to make your pattern. Make one large trio of petals and one smaller one—mine measure about 5-1/2 inches and 3 inches. I drew my pattern freehand to keep the shape as organic as the fabric. |
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Cut out your pattern. |
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Pin your pattern to the fabric. Since the jersey is thin, you can cut four layers at a time with no problem. |
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The petals all cut out. I cut four of each color in the larger size and four of the taupe color in the smaller size. |
Now that all of the petals are cut out, it's time to start building your flower.
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Starting with the small petals, overlap two petals. |
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Fold the overlapped pieces in half, and put two stitches at the center of the fold. |
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Fold the petals over in the other direction and stitch again. |
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The beginning of the flower. |
Add the two remaining smaller petal pieces to the finished center using the same crisscross stitches.
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Begin adding the larger petals. |
Continue adding petals in the same fashion until all the petals are on your flower. Tie off your stitches with a few slipknots and trim any extra thread.
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The finished flower without the added jewelry. |
Once your flower is finished, it's time to add the glam. I'm the person in my circle who always ends up with everyone's castaways, and I have tons of costume sparkle in various states of disrepair. The brooch I chose had a broken clasp, so the first thing I did was remove it with my pliers. If you don't have any baubles floating about, worry not! The thrifts are full of all sorts of broken or abused costume jewelery; this is the perfect project to save these lovelies. Earrings, brooches, and beads are all perfect for this project.
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Sew the broken jewelry onto the center of your flower. |
Once your jewelry is firmly secured to the center of your flower, sew on the pinback. I used a lot of stitches to firmly attach the pinback. After the pinback is attached, your flower is ready to shine.
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Fabulous flowers in Earth-friendly fabrics are fashionable AND conscientious. |
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green, organic
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Comments (13)
Made mine into a funky headband for a christening =) xx
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