Vintage Jewelry Boutonniere

I come from a whole family of crafty women. Growing up, my grandmother had an entire wall of cabinets in her garage-turned-family room jam packed with craft supplies. Popsicle sticks, colored string, so many types of glue it boggled the mind. A few years ago she sold her house and moved into a condo with much less space, and in her sorting out, she sent boxes of “things” that I might need one day for crafts. Most of the items have been used up by now, but I still have a baggie full of costume jewelry languishing at the back of my vanity drawer, just waiting for inspiration. Which struck when I was walking past some clothing stores a few weeks ago and noticed this season’s trend of embellished t-shirts.

If you don’t have a grandmother who sent you a supply of old sparkly jewelry, never fear, they can be had by the box load at charity shops and garage sales. Jewelry making resources are also a great place to look.

Things you need:
Vintage costume jewelry (pins, earrings, pendants – just look for something sparkly and fun)
1″ wide or thicker grosgrain ribbon
Craft glue or hot glue gun and glue sticks
Broach pin
Needle and thread

Things to do:
1. Cut about 1-1/4 yard, give or take a few inches, from your ribbon, angling the ends.

2. Make a fold in the ribbon about eight inches up from one end. Two inches down from the fold, make an angled fold so that the ribbon heads off at a different angle. Take a few stitches to hold the ribbon in place. For this project I used yellow thread so that it was easily visible in the photos, Try to find thread that matches your ribbon so you can’t see it on the finished boutonniere.

3. Continue to fold loops and change direction with the ribbon, putting in a few stitches after each layer, until you have seven loops. Fold the remaining ribbon so that the tail is pointing down, just askew from the first tail, and make your final stitches.

4. Choose the piece of jewelry you’ll use for the center. If it’s already a pin, just attach through the ribbon to your shirt. Otherwise, use the craft or hot glue to secure it into place in the center of the boutonniere.
5. Stitch or glue the broach pin to the back, just a bit higher than center. Alternately, you can sew it directly to a shirt for a more permanent embellishment. Just remember to hand wash the shirt in the future.