Millinery Flowers

{bodenusa}

Remember I mentioned this handbag a few weeks ago? I'm still not sure that I can afford it, so the "mend and make do" voice in my head is wondering if I can make one myself. I mean, people make millinery flowers all the time. Half of my Etsy favorite sellers are doing something with handmade fabric flowers. The blog scene has absolutely exploded with their loveliness.


{from Etsy sellers: foundling, frostingcouture, bonzie, houseoftelsa, myrakim, dinosaurtoes, modernromancepdx, deciduoussoul, and modernromancepdx again}

So I tried it. I had the hardest time finding a tutorial, so please chime in if you know of a good one! (If I were selling these on Etsy I wouldn't be divulging my methods either. But in this space I'm all for sharing the diy love.) I finally found this book from the 1930's, Millinery Processes by Carlotta M. Brown, that's online and fully searchable. She has a full section on making fabric flowers. And ta-da!



It's kind of a first draft, but I'm pretty stoked. This one's made from some leftover gold dupioni silk I had lying around. (That sounds kind of funny, now that I say it. Cause who has piles of gold dupioni just lying around? I had bought a bunch at a remnant sale a few years ago, and only used a bit on a dress I was making at the time. I gaze at it happily every time I open my fabric drawer.) I don't know if I'll make a whole purse out of flowers, or if maybe I'll create something to wear in my hair. And there are definitely some necessary tweaks to add to my process. But rock on!