Monday, February 28, 2011

Potentilla Bib Necklace ( taken from flamingotoes.com)


Anthro Necklace Week – Potentilla Bib

Day Two of Anthro Necklace Week!
Today we’re doing the Potentilla Bib Necklace – which I just love.
I don’t get the price though. (I usually don’t.) It’s $138.00 for this little gem. Is it because it’s made in France?? I have no idea.
Here’s the Made in Carlsbad version:
And here’s the French Anthro Version. Oui oui.
 This is really one of my favorites for the week.
Here’s how to make your very own, inexpensive, Non-French, knockoff.
Materials:
  • Scissors
  • Needle & Thread
  • Needle Nose Pliers
  • Wire Cutters
Supplies:
  • 1 18″ Silver Chain Necklace (Or supplies to make your own) 
  • Knit fabric (just scraps)
  • Seed Beads
  • Cone or Small Ribbon Clamp
  • 3 Jump Rings (Silver)
  • Felt scrap
 
The first step is to make the flowers. For my flowers I used the end of a T-shirt that I was needing to shorten.
Trace a small 4 leaf flower onto the fabric.
Cut out four flowers this size. Repeat this process making a smaller 3 leaf flower, cut out 4. Then cut out one 2 leaf piece, with one leaf smaller than the other.
For your largest flower, layer the 4 large pieces on top of each other, rotating them just a bit so the different petals show through.
Sew a grouping of seed beads in the center of your flower. At the same time, do a couple of small stitches in the center that gather the flower just a bit.
Repeat this process for one of the smaller flowers. Stack them so that the petals are rotated and sew on the seed beads.
Take a minute to say some fake swear words because you knocked over the bottle of seed beads.
Sigh.
Repeat the process – minus the mess - with the third flower.
From your felt scrap cut a small shape to sew your flowers too.  It should be a little larger on one side for the larger flower, but it should be able to be completely covered by the flowers.
Start with the large flower and sew it to the left side of the felt shape.
Make sure you don’t sew all the way through to the front of the flower, or that your stitches show on any of the petals.
Sew on your two smaller flowers. Overlap them just a bit.
Optional: If your knit is a bit curly, take a little fabric glue and glue down just a few of the petals.
Find the center point of your necklace chain and using wire cutters, clip it in half.
 
Turn your flower bib over and add an open jump ring to each side of the felt. Don’t get too close to the edge.
Add one end of your chain to each jump ring.
Close your rings. Your bib is now attached to the chain.
For the small decorative piece at the top, fold the 2 petal flower in half and take a few stitches to gather up the top.
 You can skip this step but I’m paranoid, so I added just a bit of Gorilla super glue to help hold the piece in the ribbon clamp.
If you’re using a clamp, open up the little teeth and place the petal inside. Clamp the ends around the fabric. You can also use a small cone to glue the petals into.
 Add a small jump ring to the loop on the clamp, then add this to the necklace chain near the clasp.
 That’s it! So fun and cute, don’t you think? I think I need this in multiple colors.
 And more from our Anthro Photo Shoot:
See you tomorrow!
Oh – want a hint? Think Chains. Lots of Chains. :)