Valentine's Ideas #6

Here is something you can make for yourself this Valentine's Day.  It's beautiful, it's romantic, it's frilly - all things I adore this time of year.  And what's better, I had everything I needed; I didn't buy a single thing extra for this project.  Kind of like clean-out-your-fridge lasagna?  This could be called the clean-out-your-closet necklace. ;)  This project was inspired by this post over at Craftaholics Anonymous!

Here's what I used:

an old pearl choker circa 1980

velvet ribbon - black and cheetah print

an old damask pillow sham

button

scissors

needle and thread

And here is what I did:

I wanted my necklace to be a little longer, so I extended the pearl choker to 38 inches using the black velvet ribbon.  This will also allow me to wear it a little shorter/longer depending on my mood (I did not make a closure for the necklace, I am just tying it on for versatility). After measuring equal lengths of ribbon for each side of the choker, I sewed a folded edge on one end of each of them.  And then I stitched the ribbons directly to the fixings on my choker.  I got lucky and they happened to be about the same width as my ribbon, so it was very secure when I was done.  

Here comes the fun part.  Using a stencil (pre-drawn or even a cookie cutter would work), I drew and cut 2 slightly different sized flowers from my pillow sham (which has this lovely vintage look to it).  I layered them and puckered them in the middle ever so slightly, stitching tiny pleats in the center in the shape of an x or a +.  Doesn't matter, lol! (Small confession - I really hate giving tutorials *blush*)  This will give your flower a little dimension and sturdiness, as flat flowers tend to be floppy.  Next I made the center of the flower - I used velvet cheetah print ribbon.  I ran a stitch along one side of the ribbon and gathered it tightly until I had a circle, kind of like making a yo-yo. Then I secured that with a few stitches.  I attached my ribbon center to the top of my 2 fabric flowers, and pulled it all together using a spare button... by the way, am I the only one that saves those extra buttons that come with shirts?  Cuz some of them are really nice!  Lastly I stitched the whole flower to one side of the necklace, where choker meets ribbon.  And voila!  Something to make me feel lovely.

Enjoy!!!

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