Flower and Lace Tank Top Tutorial

This tutorial was really fun for me because I knew I would love the end result. Please put your own spin on this! Mix colors, use different materials, and abandon ideas that start to not work out! Don't be scared to shake things up :)

Here's what I used for my little project:

- A strip of lace to make a lace flower out of. See that tutorial here.

- Two pre-made satin carnations

- A pre-made lace bow (vintage, from my grandmother's stash)

- A coordinating lace for the decorated shoulder (measure to length of the shoulder on your shirt)

- A shabby flower

- Later, I added a blue and green gem button for the flower center

- A tank top (you could do this with any type of shirt or dress though, really.)

The shirt, front and back. Please excuse the counter. My child has taken over.

I made my lace flower according to the tutorial linked above, then stitched one of my ribbon carnations into the center. I also attached my blue and green gem button to the center of the shabby flower. (Both hand stitched.)

Take all your fancy-dancy supplies and pin them into place. I chronically don't use enough pins, so if you're new to a sewing machine, use pins about every inch.

Next, I stitched my lace into place with my machine. It's slow-going, but the stitch is clean, straight and strong.

I then went carefully around the lace flower, just under the edges of the carnation. I kind of pulled the carnation off to the side and switched my needle off to the left so it would get super close and the stitch would be hidden.

For the shabby, I just tacked in quite a few places around the flower. Again, slow-going, but effective.

Finally, I hand stitched the second carnation on. I ran maybe five or six stitches through it (it's a hand-wash tank top anyway) and ran the needle under a stitch three times to seal it closed.

That's all it took, friends! Pretty simple for such a fantastic end result. What do you think?