Following my intention to do more stash-busting, rather than
buying new things to craft with, I made these removable shoulder embellishments
to add to my accessories collection.
This is actually a project I’ve been thinking about for
ages, but it took me a while to gather together enough buttons!
Originally I was inspired by a picture on the cover of a
record in a friend’s collection. I forgot about the project until I saw a
little customisation feature in Company magazine (October ’12 edition - said feature
involved embellishing the neckline of a t-shirt. It looked good!)
I’m pretty pleased with the outcome, which can be fixed onto
the shoulders of just about any garment.
It’s really simple to make these, so here is a tutorial.
1 pair shoulder pads
Lots of buttons of assorted sizes.
Trim (optional)
Decorative cord
Thread to match shoulder pads
Thread to match trim and cord
Needle
Scissors
Safety pins (for removable embellishments)
DVD or Radio to keep you company--it's a time-consuming
project! :)
1. Sew a strip of trim along the bottom of the deeper end of
each shoulder pad.
I was working with
what I had, so my trim was just a leftover. Fringe trim or wider trim would
look good too!
2. Starting at the centre of the shallow/flat end of each
shoulder pad, sew the cord all the way around the edge.
This cord can look great, but also has a habit of
unravelling. I managed to stop this by putting several stitches through the
ends to hold it to the shoulder pad.
For storing what you have left, I suggest wrapping a piece
of tape around the ends.
3. Sew on your buttons.
I wanted a pair of embellishments that looked vaguely
similar, so I divided the buttons up as evenly as possible. However, there were still several ‘odd’ buttons, resulting
in a number of differences between the two.
4. After much positioning and sewing of buttons, you’re all
set to jazz up that coat, jacket, cardi or t-shirt that needs an extra bit of
oomph. Either stitch or safety pin the finished embellishments to your chosen
garment.
I chose to use safety pins, partly so I can use these on
different garments and partly so I don’t have to hand wash anything!
These could be made in any colour, or a combination of
colours! I think black and gold would be cool.
This project used up nearly all of my collection of gold
buttons. I only have three left now!
The buttons used are a mixture of plastic and metal, modern
and vintage. Most of them came from my Nanny. After I told her I wanted some
gold buttons, she visited with a bag full of them! She had taken them from her
own collection and asked among her friends.
God bless grandparents! :)
Will be linking up at the parties listed below :)
Will be linking up at the parties listed below :)
Well done on busting your stash!!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried melting the end of the cord or maybe dipping it in some melted wax to stop the fraying? I'm not sure how well it'll work but I do it for ribbons :) x
Wow you sure have a big stash if you could come up with enough to fill theses. Maybe use glue the ends so they don't become undone. I have used Fray Check with good results. Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
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